


Unleashed

by WastelandSpectre (ClockworksApprentice)



Category: Ouran High School Host Club, Ouran High School Host Club - All Media Types
Genre: F/F, F/M, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Non-human OCs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-14
Updated: 2019-02-13
Packaged: 2019-08-02 00:23:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 42,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16294784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClockworksApprentice/pseuds/WastelandSpectre
Summary: On the run for the lives, three girls find themselves in Japan where they try their hand at a 'normal, inconspicuous life.' Attending Ouran Academy to keep up the rouse of being normal teenagers, it's not long until they find it harder and harder to keep their secret that none of them are even human.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Morikothehalfangel](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Morikothehalfangel).



> Also posted on FF:  
> https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12149824/1/Unleashed

**KATO**

Running. I have to keep running. My lungs burn in my chest and I can feel each scrape and cut that dig into my inflamed feet. The rest of my body is not that much better off. Every inch of me is ardent with pain and I lost feeling in my fingertips. Blood drips down my face and the awkward movement (as well as the sharp, throbbing pain) in my shoulder makes it clear that it's been dislocated. Yet I keep running. I have to keep running. If I stop, if I pause, if I hesitate for even a moment, then I'm dead.

My name is Kato Skrapi. I am not human. I am a werewolf – of sorts. My species branches off from the wolves and favors a much more graceful animal – cats. We call ourselves Katojns, the 'feline cousin' of werewolves. We are catlike in nature. Graceful. Poise. Quick. We do not howl, we  _roar._ We do not growl, we _hiss._  We do not bite, we  _claw._ Whereas a werewolf shifts into a large wolf, my current form resembles more of a deranged panther. My fangs are too jagged and uneven, my eyes too yellow, my pupils too slanted, the hunch over my shoulders too raised, to be from a normal panther. The fur across this feline body is too thick, too wild, too all over the place to be any sort of normal wildcat. A human cannot mistake me for any normal animal. I am too big. Too strong. Too aggressive. Too  _inhuman._

In the eyes of many, I am a monster. A creature. And as such, the humans within in the American government have decided that I must be captured. That I am just a mindless animal that is too dangerous to the public, but too valuable to be killed. Nothing more than a science experiment. But never again.  _Never again._ It's a mix of my own fury, adrenaline, and the sheer instinct to survive that plow me on through the Redwood forest. My nose twitches with the smell of blood and sweat. My ears are flat against my head from each noise – each twig snap, each breath, each scream, shout, and every gunshot that shoots through the air.

A loud shrill scream cuts above the other noise and I turn abruptly. My eyes widen when I see a familiar figure fall to the ground.  _My friend. My sister – but not of blood. Moriko._ She is more humanoid, even when she favors the form of her own fae-like species. But no human has her green-tinted skin, her brightly vividly green, pupil-less eyes. Her inner biology is more plant like in nature and while she has many visible cuts and wounds, the more noticeable ones being the large, gaping stumps on her back where proud, leaf-like wings once laid, I do not smell blood from her. I smell roses and chloroplast.  _Pixie_ some call her.  _Forest spirit_ say others.

A deep growl emerges in the back of my throat as I see her look up with frightened eyes as armed men surround her, pointing their weapons at her. I let out a large roar before I leap toward them, tearing through the men as if they were nothing more than paper. The gunshots make my ears ring and I'm only vaguely aware of the sudden pain in my side that's undoubtedly from a bullet. That does not stop me. I do not stop until I get to Moriko, pushing my large feline head under her body and urging her to climb onto my back. She can barely even bring herself to climb on top of me, her hands weakly fisting the fur of my neck before I run off.

 _Reve,_ I think,  _Reve! Where are you!?_

Reve is unlike me or Moriko. She is not a Katojns such as I. She is not a forest spirit such as Moriko. Reve is a Dream Weaver. A psychic-based creature that evolves around mental abilities. An entity whose forms vary between that of something physical and that of something not. A nonphysical form is harder for the enemy hit. But it is also harder for me to smell, to track, to  _see._ Where is she? Where is she!? I frantically search around for any sign of my other friend.

_I'm here Kato – to your left, straight ahead._

Hearing her voice within in the confines of my mind relax me – her ability to form a mental communication chain between her, me, and Moriko is the only communication I am able to have within in this form. I do not like my mind being invaded, but communication is communication. And knowing that Reve is alive calms me as I follow her instructions. Soon, I am to spot a purple misty fog at the edge of the forest. It vaguely forms the shape of a human and I breathe a sigh of relief at seeing her. As she is formless, I continue to run straight through her as we make our way out of the forest and toward a more mountain area that is bound to have caves that we could use as shelter. I can feel the purple fog trail behind me, lagging behind as she faces off our attackers on her own.

_I'm covering our trail. If I concentrate, I can create an aura of disinterest around us that will cause them to continue past us without looking over here…. To the right, Kato, there's a cave. We can rest there._

I don't even hesitate to do just as she says and I can hear Moriko weakly chuckle against my neck.

 _Heh never thought I'd see the day where you actually obeyed Reve,_  she comments over the mental link, more than likely her own voice is too weak to actually talk. I huff, snorting a bit at the comment. Even if it's right.

The darkness of the night does not hinder me from spotting a cave nearby. My nose tells me it's empty and I breathe a bit easier, daring to hope for rest and peace and  _freedom_  after  _years_  in that  _damn_ government facility. Or rather  _lab._  I can feel Reve following us and it's not long before all three of us are safe for the first time in a very  _long_ time within in the damp, cold walls of the cave. My muscles finally give out from under me and I plop down halfway down the cave. Moriko relaxes on top of me, her arms limply hanging off my sides. Reve's fog like form glows enough to create some light so that both she and Moriko can properly see. The fog curls around Moriko and I and I can faintly feel it against my fur. Even she's worn out and tired.

 _So what now,_ Moriko asks as she carefully and slowly maneuvers herself off of me for favor of just leaning against me. I let out a small yelp at the weight on the wound, causing her to quickly move,  _Sorry Kato._

 _I'm fine, I'm fine,_  I usher as I bury my nose within in my side, licking the tender wound,  _I don't feel any bullet and don't smell it so it must have just grazed me. Still hurts like a son of a bitch._

 _We can't stay here forever,_  Reve ponders and her fog once again regains a humanoid shape to it – like a foggy, pink-purple glowing shadow that lacks solidity.  _The facility will keep looking for us. There's only so long I can keep up this facade to keep them away._

Moriko shivers from the cold gust that briefly sweeps through the cave and after cheeking for any wounds, she buries herself against my fur for warmth. I huff, but don't offer any vocal complaint. She isn't putting pressure on any major wounds at her current position so why bitch about it. Her hand lingers close to my mouth and I lick it gently to let her know that no matter what happens, we'll be okay. We have to be okay. We can survive this.

 _But where can we go,_ Moriko asks and even though it's a mental link, I can sense the desperate, hopeless tone,  _We can't stay in America because of the facility. It's not as if we can go back to our home countries –_ She stops and I can see the realization in her eyes, - _I know somewhere we can go. The one country all of us know the language of._

I crinkle my nose in distaste, knowing exactly where she was heading with her statement. I know Esperanto, the language of my kind. I know English, if a bit broken. Reve knows her native tongue – French – as well as English. Moriko knows English as well. But that's not the language we share in common – at least it's not that one that she's referring to. Due to our time in captivity with little to do or even talk about aside from working on our escape, Moriko took it upon herself to teach us her native tongue.  _Japanese._

 _Japan,_  I groan.  _We're going to fucking Japan. Great. Just Great._


	2. Welcome to Japan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three girls finally arrive in Japan

**THIRD PERSON**

**A few weeks later**

To the naked eye, it seems as if there's three average, if a bit weird, girls are wandering the airport. A shorter girl with Spaniard features – all the way down to the slightly darker, tanned skin and long, dark wavy hair. Her clothes are dark and cover a majority of her skin, but faint scars peak out from the edges of the clothing. She stands with her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. A girl about average height, though heavy around the edges, with dirty blonde hair tied back into a dragon's tail. Her skin is light and the slanted edges of her eyes suggest Asian heritage. Her clothes are baggy and large on her, careful to cover up a majority of her skin. Unlike her apparent friend, she has a large grin on her face and excitement shining in her eyes. A tall girl, standing at a towering six feet, with a thin, lanky frame and dark skin with shoulder-length clean-cut, straight black hair. She is the most professionally dressed – blue tinged white tank with long straight black trousers. Each step she takes is precise and perfect. She does little to acknowledge the two beside her aside from the occasional glance.

But each one of these girls have eyes that unnerve many of the people who looked at them. Startling yellow eyes, one of which is glazed over as if blind – which is likely due to the scar going over it – glare at each person who turns their way, daring them to say something. The eyes of the blonde shine with warmth, yet are such an unnatural shade of green that it makes many around her uncomfortable. The eyes of the tallest meet everyone's gaze evenly and her irises swarm with a startling shade of purple and pink that swirl together in a hypnotizing manner. All of them give off such an unnerving presence that many of the other people within Japan's airport part away from them. Few are brave enough to make eye contact. Even fewer are brave enough to try to talk to any of them – God bless those poor airport workers who look like they're seconds away from pissing themselves.

"And now that we're in Japan," the short one mutters in lightly accented Japanese, "What exactly is your plan Reve?"

She turns to the tallest with a raised brow, a hand on her hip.  _I can't wait to see what this firme azeno* has come up this time._ The blonde nudges her a bit harshly, a frown on her face as she scolds the other girl for her actions with a mere look. She's met with a sarcastic eye roll and a small yowl that, thankfully, no one else seems to catch. The tallest, Reve, doesn't bat an eye as she holds a credit card between her fingers.

Black finger nails that are sharp enough to resemble small claws snatch up the credit card the moment it is revealed and leaves small cuts along Reve's fingers. Reve gives a small, minor glare to the other girl and desperately holds her hands together to hide the pink glow of her skin as it mends together. The third member of their group winces sympathetically, knowing just how much those claws can hurt.

"Ian supplied me with that," Reve explains, "And he has been kind enough to acquire a small rental house for us to live in as well as fake identities."

Her face flashes with regret and guilt for a brief moment at the mention of Ian. His name makes her heart clench in worry and in memory. The Dream Weaver-Human hybrid helped make her who she is today. He's the only one aside from the girls that she ever considers family. She misses him more than she'll ever admit. Dream Weavers are able to communicate to others through dreams and through mental links, but it's not the same. She can't see him in person and at this point, there's no one else she wants to see more.  _He's my best friend,_  she muses,  _almost a brother. But he's safe at home in France, where he belongs… Shame that Kato and Moriko won't get to meet him in person. I'm lucky that they trust my judgment when it comes to him._

"From this point on," Reve brings herself back to reality as if she never left, "We are Moriko Tenshi, Kato Skrapi, and Reve Effori. Close friends that met at an international summer camp when they were children and now travel the world together – as far as the law knows, we are all legally emancipated and have no living blood relatives and are able to afford all of our expenses due to our inheritances."

 _Mother always said that names carry power – that they make you who they are,_  Kato muses as she runs her fingertip along the credit card,  _and if she is right, then I believe that we are strong enough to get through this hell together._ All of their names have deeper meanings – meanings that don't go unnoticed by any of them. Reve Effori, French for  _dream terror,_  a nod toward her species as well as her ability to sneak into the dreams of others. Moriko Tenshi, Japanese for  _forested angel,_ an acknowledgment of her attachment to nature as well as her warm personality. Kato Skrapi, Esperanto for  _cat scratch_ for dangerously feline tendencies and species.  _But they are strong names,_ Kato notes,  _names that are perfect for our small tribon*._

"If Kato can manage to remember all of that, I'll eat my weight in dark chocolate," Moriko states simply – Kato, in the process of putting the credit card in her back pocket, hisses in protest.

Reve's lips twitch in amusement, but quickly return to a neutral expression as she continues on walking with her head high.  _I wonder where he is. I hope_ _the flight landed okay. I'm gonna be sick._ So many thoughts swarm through her mind from the people around her. Too many thoughts for her to process at once. The crowd before her blurs and spins. The small hint of panic and fear in her irises go unnoticed as she focuses most of her energy on breathing at a normal pace – there's no point for her panicking. It wouldn't end well for anyone.

"We should hurry," Reve ushers the two other girls, "We still need to purchase the essentials – clothing, food, and other essentials. The house is furnished, but we will need to purchase bed sheets, blankets, and the like. As well as silverware and bathroom products. I would like for us to get this all done before dark as both Ian and I have taken the initiative to sign all three of us up for school."

This causes Kato to stop in her tracks, a snarl forming on her lips as she sneers at the Dream Weaver in distaste and anger.

" _School,"_ she hisses, a finger raises up to Reve in a threatening manner – the dark fingernail slowly begins to grow into a claw, "Are you  _freneza*?_ We don't know a single thing about normal human behavior and interaction, nevertheless education!"

She lets out a string of curses in her native tongue, yet Reve seems undisturbed. She simply stares at the cat-like being in front of her with a seemingly uncaring expression. Her lips are thin and tight,

"Actually, to my understanding,  _you_ don't know a single thing about normal human behavior."

Kato is easily the most physically strong out of the group – an opponent that neither of the others would want to face in hand to hand combat. Yet this bit of factual information does not stir Reve. Moriko gives a small look to Reve, a signal to  _not antagonize her,_ a look that goes well ignored as Reve openly glares, despite the claws that grow beneath her chin. A sharp point presses against her throat in a threatening manner, a low growl leaving Kato's throat as her eyes shine with anger.

"Accept the facts," Reve states simply, her voice is flat and monotonic as if she's reciting a dull monologue,"Out of all of us, you are the one with the least human interaction. You spent a majority of your life among other Katojns and other supernatural species with no contact to the outside world. This puts _you_  at a social disadvantage…. But while Moriko and I know more, we do not know everything and none of us can expect to blend into society if we don't even know the basic education. We have to learn, grow, and act as human as we possibly can so no one suspects us of being anything but. The school in question is Ouran Academy that notes us as all as American foreigners as that was truthfully the last country we 'lived' in. Now please get your  _claws_  out of my face."

Kato growls deeply from the back of her throat, but having no counterargument, her claws retract back into black humanoid nails. Their tips are still a bit sharper than a normal girl's nails, but are normal enough to pass unless someone looks too closely. Moriko, however, breathes a sigh of relief as Kato backs down.

"She's right,  _ane,_  and we should get going."

Kato huffs, scowling to herself as she grumbles under her breath. Moriko rolls her eyes at the behavior, but a fond smile graces her lips before she takes Kato's arm in her own, dragging her along behind Reve.

* * *

**MORIKO**

* * *

The good news is that the small house that Reve and/or Ian picked out is a good one. It's large enough, with three bedrooms, a living space, two bathrooms and a kitchen, that none of us will be stepping on each other's toes. Which is a blessing since I know that stepping on Kato is a good way to get clawed – I shudder in the memory of the one time that I stepped on her tail when she was in her other form.  _Other form._ I frown a bit at the mention of a second form, glancing down at myself. Unlike the others, my human form is hardly different than my real form. The green tint of my skin is gone, leaving it a normal tanned, though considerably lighter than the others, shade of human skin, and the rose marks that cover a small portion of my arm (vines with roses) resemble a normal human tattoo. While my eyes have gained a white and a pupil, they remain the same inhuman shade of green that I can't quite change. I roll my shoulders instinctively and I can feel the faint numb pain on my back where two bandaged stubs lay against my skin.

I shake my head slightly to clear my thoughts and adjust the many shopping bags that line my arms. How Reve's friend is so rich, I don't know and I don't think I  _want_  to know, but I'm not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Reve took care of her clothes and all of our essentials – aside from Kato's insistence on buying her own bathroom products (she spent a large portion of time sniffing various shampoos and body washes with questions on how exactly chemicals were supposed to actually clean anything). Poor Kato. She's the most oblivious to human behavior, habits, and products. A fact that Reve  _kindly_  brought up earlier – which in my opinion was a real dick move on her part. She knows as well as I do that bringing up Kato's past like that was not nice. Heck, bringing up  _anyone's_  past like that isn't nice.

Though that's not exactly what bothers me the most. There's something in the way that Reve said that implied that she believed Kato to have less worth. As if she's just a monster or  _just a cat._  An animal.  _But anyone who spends times with animals know that they can have more emotion than anyone else,_ I sigh deeply as I look over to the cat in question.

Kato's already reverted back into her animistic form, clearly disregarding Reve's constant bickering about needing to be in human form even while we're at the house. Her panther-like body is curled near the unlit fireplace, her head resting on her large paw with downcast, tired eyes. When I look closely, I can see where the bullet wound that she had gained during our escape is still healing on her side – the blood around it has scabbed over enough that I don't think there's any cause for worry. I suppose maybe it's best for her to be in this form. She heals faster like this than as a human.

I move her discarded clothing and bags to be able to sit beside her, setting my own bags with it. My fingers run through her fur gently, causing her to tense briefly before she relaxes. From the corner of my eyes, I can see Reve watching us closely, yet she makes no move to get any closer. Like usual, she is observing us rather than interacting with us.

 _I know she didn't mean to,_ Kato finally speaks up over the mental link,  _but it still hurt. I am proud of being a Katojns, but I am not a mindless animal. Not a monster._

My heart clenches for my sister – and she is my sister. It's as simple as that. Your family is who you choose it to be and we've been through too much together to be anything less than family. Kato's large feline head moves to rest on my thigh. Her head and upper body are big enough to cover my entire lap and legs as I continue to pet her gently until a soft purr emerges from the back of her throat. A small part of me wonders how much she weighs in this form – over 250 pounds is my guess. It's a solid weight against me, but not painfully so. Though anyone with eyes knows that in human form, she's far from being heavy. Faes, such as myself, are proud of each pound and curve. A fae with more weight to them is just a sign of a healthy, well-fed fae. A perfect parental figure, the embodiment of warmth and friendliness. The idea that Kato is comfortable and happy being so  _thin_  (though toned and muscled, she's still just plain  _small),_ it's almost laughable. I know that it's because in human form, she relies on the speed that her small form provides, but there are days that I just want to feed her my mother's recipe for  _instant growth_ (as she called it) – granted to put meat on your bones. Despite the fact that the recipe itself is void of any meat. Fae biology doesn't bode well with meats.

For a brief moment, I remember the time I saw Kato devour a rat that wandered into her cage at that facility and I shudder before bringing myself back to reality. At Kato's words, I glance back to where Reve was earlier only to see she's disappeared – likely gone to her room. Which is probably what we should be doing right about now. I attempt to move my legs out from Kato, only for her to growl lightly and pressing more of her weight onto me. I tsk at her childish behavior and flick her on her nose, causing her nose to twitch as she snorts, moving off my lap to rub her large paw against the flesh of her nose. Even in her current form, the glare she gives me is pretty clear.

"We should go check our rooms, get settled, and all that other stuff that Reve's been trying to get us to do," I suggest, lightly nudging her in a teasing manner before I go to grab my bags of new clothes.

When I turn around, the many bags hanging from my arms, Kato is back in her human form, adjusting her long, if a bit worn, shirt over her body to cover the essentials, disregarding the pants that still lay on the ground. Not that I really blame her. The clothes we were wearing when we got here were ones we had stolen from some tourist gas station – those big ones that are stuck on the side of busy highways in middle of nowhere that have anything you could ever need if you're a college student or large family on a cross country road trip. My lips thin at the vague pain in my heart. I still remember when my parents took me on those road trips – stopping constantly along the way for various wildlife protection protests. I was very young then and it's blurred, but I remember Dad telling me how those trips made us seem more like a normal, human family.

Kato gathers her things with ease before turning to me. She stares at me for a moment, making me shift on my feet as I bite at my lip, feeling a bit more self conscious from the staring.

"How are you," her eyes soften as she speaks quietly and gently, taking a step forward, gently put her hand on my back.

I tense, rolling my shoulders briefly at the uncomfortable sensation that floods my body. There's a light stinging pain from the two spots on my back, each on either side of her hand where wings once were. Kato removes her hand at my reaction, the pain and gentleness in her normally harsh eyes still baring in my own.

"I'm okay," I answer her question softly, though I can't help but feel as though I'm lying through my teeth.

I don't think Kato believes me. She simply stares with that careful, thoughtful expression on her face, her mouth parting slightly as if she wants to say something but isn't quite sure how to say it. She gives up trying to speak at all, offering a weary smile before she wanders off to her own bedroom. Reve had made sure we knew exactly what rooms are whose – the one with the most windows and sunlight is mine, while the one with the least is Kato's. She wasn't happy about the lack of sunlight, as she loves the warmth it provides, but understood that if she had windows in her room, it was more likely she'd do something that'd expose us. A fact she only begrudgingly admitted under her breath.

Like Kato, I head to my own room down the first hall. The door is situated between a bathroom that Reve and I will be sharing and Reve's own bedroom. The second hall is home to Kato's own bedroom and bathroom. Neither Reve nor I want to share a bathroom with the furball as we know that she's bound to clog the drain. If she'll even shower in the first place. I shake my head and walk into the neatly furnished, if a bit bland, bedroom.

This is definitely going to take some getting used to.


	3. An Average Morning

**REVE**

**A week later**

The dark swirls within in my coffee mug blur together as I stare blankly into it. My hand tightens around the mug. It's too early for anyone to be up, even me. But the smell, the taste, and even the appearance of the black coffee in my hands helps considerably. I can see the streets of France within its depths, taste the finest wine on the tip of my tongue. I can feel Ian's presence beside me though he's countries away,  _back home._  I sigh deeply as I feel my physical form blur and glow, on the brink of blinking into my true, misty form. I take a moment to gather myself back up to becoming human. It's not fair to them for me to slip out of existence after constantly telling them how important it is to keep up our human appearances.

My hand grips the mug tighter.  _Human appearances._ We're not human, we never will be. All of this is just a game of  _pretend_  that I'm not sure we're even capable of keeping up for the next week, nevertheless for the rest of our lives. The idea that we may fully blend into  _human_  society is a pipe dream. Especially since Moriko seems to be the only of us who genuinely wants to be here with so many humans. My teeth grind before I stand up, shaking myself back to the fact that it doesn't matter how much I whine or moan or complain, it's not changing anything. We're here. We have to make a life for ourselves. A life outside of the  _Facility._

I suppress the shiver that threatens to go down my spine and I can feel the phantom pain of needles piercing my skin.  _My form is shapeless, resembling a weak pink cloud. Endless screaming, pleading, begging, all of it leaving my mouth in the form of sharp static. Scientists screaming in pain as their ears bled from the intensity of the sound within in their mind. Banging frantically against glass, causing my form to split apart in mist with each thud. A button is frantically pounded by one of the white coats. Needles emerge from the walls, enclosing me. Can't slip through them. Can't focus. Can't -_

"Reve?"

I let out a sharp gasp as a hand gently touches my shoulder. On instinct, my body breaks apart into a mist to form a good few feet of distance between me and the touch before it comes back together to form a solid, humanoid form. My breathing stills and when my body is physical again, it's tense. Ready for a fight. The glow leaks through my body in a threatening manner. Have to fight – can't stop – have to protect myself, protect Kato, protect Morik-

"Reve," a familiar voice calms me and I breath seeing it's Moriko standing in front me – not a White Coat.

Moriko looks at me with a sad, understanding expression as she takes a seat at the table. She doesn't ask. She doesn't have to do. I'm a Dream Weaver. I've seen her dreams – her nightmares – as well as Kato's. It's something that haunts us all. A dark, heavy weight that holds us down. But I suppose that is why we've moved here. To lessen that weight and look to a brighter future. I take a deep breath and clean up the mess that was left from a broken coffee mug – turning into a nonphysical form does make it hard to hold onto anything.

"If you ever want to talk about it, you know I'm here," Moriko's voice is a whisper, "You have to listen to me and Kato all the time – sometimes not even by your choice because of the mental link. It's only fair we listen to you too."

"We," I scoff, tossing the remains of the mug into the trash before grabbing a rag.

"-Kato will come along eventually," Moriko winces, "You know how she is. She's just…"

She trails off, not being able to find words to describe what it is she's trying to say. It's always the same excuse, all the time. It rubs my skin, my everything, the wrong way like mental sandpaper.  _Kato is just… Kato._ I gulp thickly. She doesn't know what she's doing, I repeat to myself. She doesn't know control, discipline, obedience. But it's not her fault. It doesn't make me any less frustrated, but I do understand even if she doesn't think that I do. I know that after being stuck in that awful faci-  _place –_ made her into such a small being filled with so much pent up anger and frustration and sorrow that lashes out without thinking. A caged animal that's just been freed into the world that has yet to be tamed. Yet to figure out that not everyone who steps close to her is going to hurt her.

_Patience is a virtue._

I toss the rag into the sink before grabbing the necessary ingredients for breakfast – by the time I'm done cooking, Kato should be getting up so it'll be fresh for her. Moriko grabs an apple from a fresh fruit basket on the table.

"You know she still thinks I'm the one that keeps cooking breakfast for her," Moriko's voice is muffled from her mouth being full of food.

"It doesn't matter."

* * *

**KATO**

* * *

Alarm clocks, I have decided, are the absolutely worst things to have ever been invented. I don't understand why humans are so insistent on ruining a good night's sleep. It abruptly wakes me up from the most solid sleep I've had in years and brings me back to a harsh, cold reality. The noise blares into my sensitive ears and I let out an angry growl as I punch the alarm clock. It breaks at the hit, but it's not exactly a tragic loss. With anger, regret, and a constant growl forming in the back of my throat, I push back the perfectly comfortable warm blankets. The cold air nips at my bare skin, only adding to my bad mood. Moriko insists I wear clothes when I sleep, advice I ignore. I don't see the point in wearing clothes when you sleep. The fact that I shift forms through the night aside, why wear clothes to bed when it's just something to wear at bed? You wake up and change, only to get into those same night clothes before falling asleep. Pointless.

I stretch out with a tired yawn, causing all my joints to pop. I smack my lips, running my tongue over my teeth, my canines are a bit sharp but not inhumanly so in this form. I miss the large, intimidating ones I have in my true form. My nose twitches at the scents of my friends –  _sisters –_ noting that they're already awake and likely in the kitchen. My feet drag below me and my body feels heavy. I want nothing more than to simply crawl into bed and go back to sleep. But if I do that, then I'm going to miss my first day (ever) of school. My lips curl at the thought. Reve has made it fairly clear to me over the past week that if I don't go to school, she's going to use her powers to do something horrible to me (a vague threat that doesn't necessarily scare me). Though if not for Moriko, I wouldn't been 'taught' how to behave in public (at least, I wouldn't have listened). Basically a long list of things I  _can't_ do – no clawing/scratching, hissing, growling, yowling, purring.  _No Kato, bad kitty. No Kato, sit still. No Kato_ this and  _No Kato_ that.

My hands curl into fists at my sides by the time I've dragged myself into the bathroom. I spend a good five minutes just staring at my reflection, not even recognizing the girl staring back at me. The most color in my face comes from the dark circles under my eyes. My cheeks are hollow and sharp. My hair has lost most of its fluff and softness, though it is considerably better than it was when we first got to Japan. I huff at the shadow of the girl I used to be and drag my feet to the dreaded shower. I eye it cautiously as if it's going to attack – water is meant for drinking. Cats bathe themselves. But 'properly' bathing is at least more tolerable in human form.

Bah. Dumb humans and their dumb human habits. I mumble various curses under my breath as I shower, ignoring the prissy, so-called organic, 'desert essence' body wash and shampoo that still smells demented and morphed to my nose. Nothing about it smells even remotely like home. My heart clenches at the homesick, longing forming in my chest. To be free in my other form, feeling the sand between my paws as I run through the Tabernas desert, my _hejmo*_.The hot heat of my  _amatan dezerto*_ warming my dark fur – perfect camouflage for the dark, desert night. Feeling the gritty sand between my fangs when I tear into unsuspecting pray that spent the day buried under the ground…. It's home….  _But I have not been home in a long time,_  I think as I drag myself out of the water, my hair clinging to my body,  _so long that it feels almost like a mirage. A vague, blurred memory._

I couldn't go home if I wanted to. The ones who birthed me, raised me, loved me – my birth family - they will not accept me. They will not welcome me back. They cast me out, forced me out of my pack, my family, just because of one mistake. One mistake that  _ruined_ everything – I was alone until Moriko found me and then the  _Facility_. But now? If I go back now, I'll be  _killed_ for returning from such a banishment. A fact that I have to face whether I like it or not. I rub at the corners of my eyes and try to shove those thoughts out of my mind.

Rolling and shaking my shoulders, I attempt to dry myself as I would in my other form, before I give up and grab the roughly textured towel hanging up and begrudgingly finish getting ready.

* * *

Moriko and Reve, as I suspected, are already up and conversing in the kitchen by the time I manage to drag myself there for breakfast. I don't know how Moriko can look so awake this early in the morning – though, Reve raises a neatly trimmed eyebrow at me in question. I bare my teeth at her, curling my lip with a light growl that causes her to roll her eyes at me. Moriko shakes her head at the behavior, setting a cup of warm coffee (which honestly smells fairly pleasant) on the table.

"Can you go five minutes without growing or snarling," Moriko looks to me with an expression of  _really?_ \- the type of expression you give your pet after it does something you tell it not to. I hate that that's the first thing to come to mind.

"Sorry, my limit is four minutes," I mumble as I harshly pull a chair from the table and sit down with plans to enjoy breakfast.

A plate is already made for me and it smells appetizing, pleasant to my nose. I'm not quite used to pork – or ham in this case – being cooked, fried no less. Nor am I quite used to eating it with eggs and bacon. But over a course of a week, having everything from normal breakfast to more cultured breakfasts depending on who cooked and what mood they were in when they did (I, however, have been banned from cooking when I managed to set Reve on fire), I've gotten used to this smell of delicious food. It smells just as good every time and tastes even better than the last. Moriko has to be the chef of the day, I'm sure of it. I scarf it down, barely even remembering to use the utensils supplied, and nod my thanks to Moriko with stuffed cheeks.

"School begins in precisely thirty minutes. We have ten more minutes to eat and converse before we leave," Reve speaks up, causing me to huff, "Remember to not do anything out of the ordinary. No inhuman behavior. Smile and laugh at jokes you may not understand and obscene references whose meanings escape you. Act as though you know everything that's going on within the humans' community."

Ten more minutes to eat? Don't make me laugh, Reve. I'm already done. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand before pushing my plate away. Reve's look of contempt doesn't escape me and I give her a toothy, feral grin in return. She huffs, crossing her arms across her chest as she gives up trying to even socialize with me. Moriko sighs deeply at our interaction before she stands from the table and heads off to the living room. My nose twitches when she returns with a ball of yarn in her hands.

"Maybe if you get out that hunting instinct of yours, you'll be in a better mood for school," Moriko taunts and I make a face at her.

Whatever anger I feel, however, is pushed to the side as she begins to dangle the string. I can feel my eyes go wide as I stare at it. Going back and forth. Back and forth. A pendulum that stirs something within in my chest. My pupils dilate and I begin to stir from my seat, rising to put my feet on the chair as I crouch, my eyes never leaving the yarn. Back and forth. Back and forth. Everything around me blurs. All the noise around me slows. A primal voice rises in my mind.  _Prey. Prey. Prey. Prey._ A wiggle of my body. The yarn goes flying.

" _ **MORIKO,"**_  I barely recognize Reve's screeching voice, a majority of all my senses focusing on the ball of string as I catch it between my hands. I curl my body as I land, absently bringing the ball of yarn to my mouth.

It's not the taste of mice or bird or fish. It's not meat. It's  _yarn._  An almost cotton like taste with an even worse texture. My eyes blink and I find myself staring at Reve from an awkward position. My weight is in her lap. I can feel her hands grip my body, almost cradling me like a small child due to my body being curled into a semi-ball. I spit out the ball into my hands. I'm met with pink eyes that swirl with so much anger, I feel it radiating off of her entire body. A flush spreads across my cheeks and her gaze tears away from me to glare at the laughing fae near us.

"Kato, can you gain some self control." Reve's voice is just on the tip of being inhuman. It almost sounds like there's static in her voice, underlying each word she says. Like two voices – one humanoid, one machine – speak at once, "Moriko, don't encourage her."

The anger and instability in her voice makes me feel much smaller than I am. I shift and adjust to make myself appear larger as I get off of her lap. I can feel a few stray strands of the yarn in my teeth.

"I'm, uh," my tongue rolls over my canines and I swallow the apology building in my throat, "- I'll finish getting ready."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Hejmo (Esperanto) - Home
> 
> *Amatan dezerto (Esperanto) – Beloved Desert


	4. First Day

**THIRD PERSON**

New students are not very common at Ouran High School Academy – they're almost unheard of. Of course, they get new people at the beginning of the year, but just before the end of the first semester? It is odd and uncommon. A majority of wealthy families are not so careless to cut out that education from their children's lives, not when their businesses and family legacies depended so heavily on the lessons and connections made within the school. Yet on this day three new students, American transfers no less, are entering the school grounds. Kato Skrapi. Moriko Tenshi. Reve Effori. Three transfers of different ethnicity (according to their records – Spanish, French, and one part-Japanese, part-Caucasian) that are connected together in a way that Kyoya Ootori simply finds odd.

It doesn't sit right with him. Foreign transfers are hardly ever accepted, especially at this point of the year instead of the beginning of the next semester. He's checked their records, everything seems to be right and in place. But there's a feeling in his gut that says it's not. Small holes in the records make that feeling have a bit more substance to it. It's too coincidental to be truthful – all three having previous relations with each other all moving to Japan and being accepted to Ouran, legally emancipated or not. They're all around the same ages of him and the hosts. Reve Effori being his and Tamaki Souh's age, joining them in their year and class. Moriko Tenshi being a first year, is in Haruhi's class. Kato Skrapi is a third year, likely to be in Takashi and Hunny's class. This will undoubtedly work for him in the end – it allows him a better chance to keep an eye on them.

He can't help but look out the window of the music room, glancing at the three girls as they walk onto the campus. They stick out like sore thumbs among the see of yellow dresses. Despite having the means of affording the school, they do not wear the uniform, rather they wear commoner clothing of all things. Things that look as if they came off the thrift shelf of an older, already cheap store. He clicks his tongue.

The tallest, Reve Effori, is the most professionally dressed – long slacks that highlight her height with a dark blazer - a fact he appreciates and is mildly impressed by. Her already tall height doesn't stop her from adorning three inch heels that make her stand like a tower. She seems intelligent and merely looking at her gives him a vague sense as if he's already lost some sort of fight. He hates that feeling. He will need to keep a very close eye on her. She'd be the one to catch onto his game, if she's as smart as she looks. Her back is turned to him as she converses with the shortest of the group, from her posture he can only guess that she's scolding the other girl for something.

Moriko Tenshi looks as if she belongs out in the garden rather than in the school with the flowing, comfortable green clothes she wears. Her smile is as bright as her eyes. He squints and he can see the color too clearly in her irises even from his distance. He can only imagine just how brightly vivid green her eyes would be at a much closer proximity.  _Contacts,_ he muses, and he scoffs that they are willing to spend such money for contacts of that quality yet become shrewd when it comes to the price of the uniforms.

The shortest, Kato Skrapi, seems to be the least happy of the group. She has a more exotic appearance, one that he doesn't see very often in Japan, with her hair swept over one of her eyes. But she isn't a delicate flower. There's something about her that gives off a dangerous vibe. As if she's not someone you want to make angry or begin a fight with. Her eyes, or rather the one that isn't hidden behind hair, catch his his, briefly, and like Moriko, her eyes shine with an unnatural hue. A startling yellow, reminding him of a cat's eye that shines in the darkness. There's an almost primal instinct deep in him that tells him to back off from her, to gain as much distance as he can between them. He stands his ground for a brief second before he has to look away from her.

If this all just ends up being his paranoia, he'll drop it. His interest in them will fade and having no connections among any wealthy families or businesses, they'll be of no benefit and he won't have to reply on the others are roping the girls into coming into Music Room Three. But there really is something there,  _anything,_  he'll figure it out.

He always does – Reve looks his way at that moment. Her eyes swirl with pinks and purples resembling an intricate painting rather than irises. She holds his gaze evenly, narrowing her eyes as if she knows exactly what he was thinking. His own eyes narrow in return as he pushes up his glasses, but brushing off most of his suspicion and content with his observations, he turns away and heads to class.

* * *

They are all aware of someone watching them – Moriko knows from hearing it over the mental link, Reve could feel eyes on them, but it's Kato who makes eye contact with the man first. She can see him through the shadows of one of the windows, watching them as if they are a spectacle for observation. She glares at him, her lip twitches before she remembers that snarling at people is one of the things that Reve told her not to do. She settles for sneering. She's insulted when he holds her gaze, even briefly, as if he thinks himself to be higher than her. She grumbles and turns his back to him.

 _Reve,_  Kato thinks over the link,  _Someone's watching us._ Her eyes flicker to the window and Reve follows her gaze.

 _I know,_  Reve's voice is darker and more serious, as she turns her attention to the observer.

His thought about them didn't go unnoticed by her and the idea that anyone, especially on their first day, has doubts about them doesn't settle well with her. She worked too hard to secure this for it to be blown apart by some paranoid human. There's an uneasy feeling in her gut. If he finds out about them, or if they give him a reason to become more suspicious of them, then the situation could easily turn dangerous. All it would take is him talking on the phone and mentioning them before someone in the Facility would show up, or perhaps even some Japanese branch of the organization, to cart them away in specialized cages.  _They're bound to be listening for any signs of us, channeling in on every phone conversation, every internet forum, every video,_ Reve thinks, turning away from the window when the mystery man turns and leaves,  _things like us don't escape very often from The Facility._

Her eyes narrow and there's a glow that flashes across her irises as she sends thoughts his way. Suggestively inserting thoughts and feelings in his mind, not enough that he would question his change in mood later, but enough that he'll brush off most of his doubts of them and walk away from the window. Enough that, hopefully, he will leave them alone for a while. Enough to buy her time to figure out what to do should things turn south.

"Do you think we should have bought the uniform," Moriko muses out loud in an effort to ease the tension that's fallen over.

Kato quirks an eyebrow and turns to Reve in question, her arms crossed against her chest, curious about the answer. Reve sighs and can already feel a headache coming on, briefly wondering if perhaps she should have just signed them up for online schooling before remembering that the whole point of emerging themselves in the crowded building for hours upon hours a day is to get used to people and actually learn to blend into society.

"Uniforms are an unnecessary waste of what fiances we do have. We have more money than most thanks to my friend in Paris. But I would rather not abuse his generosity."

Moriko, content with the answers, hums a bit to herself and continues on her way. Kato huffs and begrudgingly continues on, following right on Moriko's heels.  _Like a cat on a leash,_  Reve notes with amusement before following behind them, wondering how the cat would react when she finds out that all three of them are in different classes.

* * *

Kato hates this. She hates it with a burning passion deep within in her chest. She hates being in such a large, enclosed building with so many people at once. She hates that she sticks out so harshly against a sea of yellow and blue. She hates that, as her and the others finally get their schedule from the principal, she is put ahead of both Reve and Moriko. Which means she's going through this blind and on her own. Most of all, she hates that Reve  _knew_  this beforehand and neglected to tell her. The string of curses, both in her native tongue and otherwise, that she shouts in her mind go ignored by both Moriko and Reve – after an hour of it, they gave up trying to calm the cat.

She stares at her schedule, glaring at it with a burning hatred. She only understands a few words here and there – the image of the map does little to help her. She  _speaks_  Japanese, if heavily accented, but reading it is another story. She planned on being in the same class as Moriko so that the fae could help translate. With them both trying to focus on two separate classes and assignments, that left little time for translating both. But even as the bell signaling for students to hurry to class rings, Kato makes no effort to move. She briefly thinks about ditching before shaking her head and focusing more intently on the map. Reve would scold her harshly for ditching on their first day and after the morning they had, she doesn't wish to anger the Dream Weaver any farther.

A small weight bumps into her, causing her to tense, a growl burning in her throat as she turns with a glare, ready to tear into any threat. She's met with a small boy who had run into her with enough force to fall flat on his butt. She swallows the growl, but the distaste and anger is still clear in her face. She snorts at the intense, almost overwhelming smell of sweets and sugar and artificial flavoring that hits her nose. He looks at her with wide, curious eyes, but there's something else there that she doesn't like. There's the look of a warrior shining deep in his irises despite the fact that he looks as though he's close to tears.

But then her attention is drawn to a much larger, much clearer threat that stands between her and what she can only assume is a small human child that got lost. His smell is more pleasant than the other's. It's more husky, more masculine, stirring a strange sensation in her chest – she hates that some part of her likes that smell. He towers over her, though it isn't something that's very hard to accomplish. She doesn't stand down, meeting his gaze straight on, daring him to try something as she tries her hardest to ignore his smell. Her fists tighten and sharp nails dig into her palm, threatening to turn into claws. There's a caution in his eyes and in his stance, as if he knows she's some sort of threat but is trying to deny it. She doesn't deserve that benefit of doubt. Not with the things she has done. She swallows thickly at that reminder, straightening her shoulders to stand as tall as she can.

"It's okay Takashi," the small one stands up, blinking away tears, "I'm the one that ran into her. It's my fault."

Her eyes flicker to the boy on the ground, seeing him sniffle as he stands up, smiling brightly as if he never cried. She falters at the dramatic, quick change of attitude. She shakes her head and focuses back on the larger one – he's the biggest threat. He doesn't trust her. He doesn't like her. She can see it in his eyes. Her fingers twitch. She could show him that he has every right to believe her to be a threat. It's a deep itch inside of her chest. She could take him down easily. Human strength is nothing compared to that of her species – whether she be in this human form or not.

But Reve's warning of trying to act human comes to mind and she bites the inside of her cheek. Her nails dig into her palm with more pressure for a brief moment before she forces her fists to relax. The nails' sharp points tone down enough to pass as human nails.  _Can't fight on the first day. Reve would not be happy._ It doesn't stop the way her leg twitches, ready to burst into a run at a moment's notice nor does it to do anything to stop the rapid beat of her heart. But it's enough for her to keep her mouth shut.

"I'm sorry I ran into you," the small one bows at her before looking up at her with a big, welcoming grin, "I'm Haninozuka Mitsukuni. But you can call me Hunny! And this is Morinozuka Takashi! Everyone calls him Mori!"

She's blinded by his grin and blinks, the scent of flowers and sugar becoming more apparent and she wonders if that smell is just from his personality alone. She shuffles on her feet, rolling her shoulders, avoiding looking them in the eyes as she ducks her head down.  _Human, human, human – think human, think human._ She desperately wishes that Moriko had given her better lessons on Japanese manners and introductions, or just human manners in general. She doesn't know what the proper response to this is. A Katojns, her kind, would bump heads or wrestle or  _something_. She bites her lips, almost drawing blood from the sharp tips of her canines.  _'In Japan, they say their last name first, then their first name,'_ Moriko had told her,  _'remember to always use -san or -chan if it's a friend. It shows respect.'_  Names are power, but she fails to see how adding onto a name you are given at birth is a sign of respect. She remembers her mother told her how that's usually reserved to only the most respected and powerful – such as the chief, the leader, or the gods.

But humans? Humans have done nothing to earn her respect. They have done nothing but destroy her home, her people, her  _species._  They bring nothing but pain. Pain and torture and sorrow. There's a sharp pain in her chest and her jaw clenches.  _I can't act human,_ a small growl slips through her lips,  _I am not human. I do not want to be human._ She lifts her gaze, glaring at them for a full few seconds before she stalks past them, turning a cold shoulder.

Both Hunny and Takashi are shocked when they're met with golden irises that burn with an intense inner fury _._ It goes beyond just being mad at  _them_ personally. It's a deep, burning inward anger that they've only seen in very few individuals. From what they have known and seen, anger like that only comes from hurt individuals. People whose anger mask that hurt. Eyes that have an underlying gleam of sorrow. The breeze of her brisk walk makes her hair flutter just briefly enough for them to catch a small glimpse of a scar on her face – too brief for them to know the extent of said scar, but enough for their eyebrows to furrow in brief confusion and curiosity.

"Do you think she's okay," Hunny asks softly, watching the strange girl as she weaves her way through the crowd.

Takashi hums in reply – he doesn't know. He wish he did, if anything to calm any worries that his cousin may have. But, like Hunny, he too watches the girl gracefully dodge every person that comes her way as she stalks through the hall. She doesn't make a single noise. Her movements are too smooth – though he does note that she favors a particular side of her body over the other. Maybe she isn't okay. Maybe she is hurt. Maybe she's just an angry person and they were looking too much into it. But there's one thing that he is sure of. Whomever she is, she walks like a fighter. A potentially dangerous one at that.

* * *

Moriko peeks her head into what's supposed to be her classroom, seeing that it's mostly empty she wanders in and takes a seat. She breathes a sigh of relief at having got to her class early enough that she doesn't have to worry about not finding a seat. She scans the classroom from her new spot, taking in all the notes on the blackboard and the small educational decorations and posters that line the room. She can vaguely remember, when she was much  _much_  younger, being in public school – the memories of that time are a bit a blurred. But for a majority of her life, and what she remembers more clearly, her parents taught her. It was more convenient for them to home school her, in both the ways of the fae and small parts of more human-school-based education.

 _'Reve, Moriko – I need help,'_  Kato's plea comes out more begrudgingly than urgent through the mental link.

 _'Already?'_  Reve muses, ' _Surely you could go one day without needing help?'_

_'Well it's not exactly my fault you forgot that I only speak Japanese! This map is useless to me!'_

Moriko sighs, resting her head on her desk. _If they keep this up, they'll both be spending the day arguing over the mental link than focusing on class._ She can already feel the pounding against her temple. She takes a deep breath and glances around the room to see a majority of students have taken their seats. The teacher stands at the front of the class. The final bell signaling the beginning of class rings and she winces.

 _'Sorry Kato – I can't listen to you and the teacher. I have to focus,'_ Moriko's sympathy shines through her thoughts clearly, but it doesn't stop the whine of Kato's reply before the mental link is sharply cut.

Moriko has no doubt that the Dream Weaver got tired of dealing with Kato's whining over the link. She lets out a small snort before she shakes her head and tries her hardest to focus on the teacher's words. She squints. There's already writing on the black board but half of it is blocked by two heads of red hair in front of her. She bites her lip and her finger hesitates an inch away from their backs. She sucks in a deep breath.

"E-Excuse me," she whispers, taping on their shoulders to get their attention, "Can you split up a bit so I can see the board?"

She rears back seeing how both of them turn around to face her – it's as if she's seeing double. Not only do they move in union, but both look strikingly similar. Even for twins. They blink in union at her before two large, cheeky grins stretch across their faces. She wishes she chose a different seat – one far in the back and away from those rather disturbing grins. Those grins just scream  _fresh meat_ and suddenly, she feels a lot like that rat that Kato once ate. Prey in the face of its predator.

But the moment that they open their mouths to say something, a hand whacks them on the back of their heads. They reel back with a wince, mumbling as they rub their heads. Moriko throws a grateful grin to her 'savior' – a smaller student with brown hair. Their androgynous appearance makes their true gender hard to tell – though it doesn't necessarily matter.

"Don't even think about it," the 'hero' says bluntly, giving a dry  _'I'm so done with this'_  look to the twins, who do their best to look as if they weren't planning to do anything. They turn to Moriko with a curious look, tilting their head to the side in a way that makes their bangs gently fall across their forehead, "I haven't seen you before. Are you new?"

Moriko hesitates, her face feeling a bit hot, the cute curiosity of her 'hero' momentarily distracting her before she can process what was said.

"Y-Yeah. Tenshi Moriko," she dips her head in greeting, a gesture which is returned.

"Fujiko Haruhi. Are you here on a scholarship too? You don't exactly look like a normal student."

Moriko can hear the twins mutter to themselves about Haruhi's direct approach of questioning. But she smiles at Haruhi, after a lifetime of people dancing around her and avoiding the point, the other's approach to asking is a breath of fresh air. Her eyes twinkle as she leans forward in her seat with a laugh,

"Oh no, we can afford this school just fine – sort of. But I don't really think yellow's my color. Or anyone's really." she stops for a moment before continuing, "- _Too?_ Are you here on a scholarship?"

Haruhi opens her mouth to reply, but a shout from the teacher makes them all turn their attention back on class and less on each other. Though both Haruhi and Moriko notice how the twins continue to spare glances back toward the new student with scheming grins.

* * *

Reve Effori rubs her temples with her fingers gently and deeply, hoping maybe if she continues to do so that the throbbing headache will calm down. The hope is small – in the past, nothing short of either removing herself from the situation to transform into her true form or two bottle of pain killers would solve the problem. She finished off the pain killers yesterday and due to her new school environment, she's unable to suddenly up and leave. Even if she could, she wouldn't be able to transform here. But everyone's thoughts stab into her mind like mental daggers – everyone, particularly the females in the room, is loud and jarring. Cutting the mental link between her sisters, as much as it pains her to do so, has helped sort through her mind, but there's so much to process that she feels even hours of meditation would barely be of any service. It doesn't help that she happens to be placed behind two men – one of whom is recognizable as the suspicious student who watch them this morning, the other of whom just has  _extremely_  loud thoughts.

"Excuse me," the loud one has a surprisingly soft, calming voice as he turns to look at her, his eyes twinkling as he bows his head, "Are you okay? A beautiful face such as yours shouldn't look as if it's in pain."

The other one doesn't turn to her, but she can see how he still manages to keep a close eye on them. He turns a bit, adjusting his position in a way that his ears are more turned toward them. It would have been discrete. But considering how she keeps just as close of an eye on him as he does on her, she notices this movement easily. Her eyes narrow on him briefly before she moves her gaze back to the blonde. Despite the almost-nauseating charm that drips on his words, there's a genuine concern shining in his eyes. Her face softens into a more neutral expression as she sits up straighter in her seat, her head held high.

"I am fine, thank you for your concern."

She doesn't know what she said. But something in her words seems to excite him. His eyes light up with stars as he eagerly leans forward, suddenly becoming much closer to her than she'd like. Her back is straight against her chair and yet there's still only a few inches between their faces. She can feel his breath on her cheek and swallows a gag reflex at the close proximity.

"If I'm not mistaken, there's a French hint in your Japanese. Are you French,  _mon cheri?"_

" _Ou_ _i."_

The moment her answer leaves her lips, she regrets it and feels a sense of dread building in her chest. The excitement in the boy's eyes only grow as he begins to jitter in French, babbling, barely even taking a moment to breath. She only catches glimpses of it – his name is Tamaki Souh and he's oddly interested in where she's from in France. But that's only what she hears with her physical ears. Mentally – mentally her mind is overwhelmed with a swarm of words. His sentences swirl and form a tornado in her mind, spinning and spinning and  _spinning._ Her heart begins to pound so loudly that she cannot even hear him with her actual ears anymore. Her blood goes straight to her brain. Her hands shake in her lap as she ducks her head down.

It's only then that Kyoya steps in, noting the falter in her otherwise emotionless form. As if on the brink of fainting or a panic attack or a strange mixture of the two. He almost doesn't blame her. It takes a special type of person to handle Tamaki. Even he struggles at times.  _But at least I do a much better job at hiding my displeasure,_  he pushes up his glasses before he turns his head toward Tamaki – for a brief moment, he swears that he saw Reve look up just enough to glare at him. For an even briefer moment, he  _almost_  believes that her eyes  _flashed_  with a pink glow. Like a warning of sorts – but a warning of what, he's doesn't know, and brushes off the flashing eyes as a trick of the light. Though it doesn't stop his own eyes from lingering on her, as if expecting her to jump out of her seat or suddenly reveal whatever it is that she seems to be hiding.  _Interesting._

"Tamaki," Kyoya speaks up calmly, cutting off the other one's rant, "Perhaps you should give the lady her personal space back, hm?"

Tamaki blinks blankly before realization of the request dawns on him, a sheepish flush creeping up on his cheeks as he draws himself back into his seat, adding space between him and the newest student. He gives her a dazzling smile as an apology, but falters when he notices that her attention isn't on him nor on her trembling hands. Her intense glaring gaze is directed directly at Kyoya. His face falls, looking between the two, trying to figure out the connection between the glare and his best friend. He comes at a blank and settles back down in his seat, eyes hooded with thought.

_What did Kyoya say that made her so upset?_


	5. Quite A Conundrum

**Third Person**

She wishes she knew exactly how she let herself be tricked into this situation. But it seemed that all she did was blink before Moriko was being dragged down the hall to who knows where. She eyes the twins gripping her wrists, dragging her behind them, with caution and unease. Her skin itches beneath her sleeves where their hangs grasp her and her fingertips are beginning to tingle and twitch. She tries her hardest to ignore her first instinct to rip her arms out of their grasp. With her a glance back, she hopelessly looks to Haruhi for any help – they offer a shrug.  _So much for help._

A yelp escapes her lip when the twins finally let go, throwing her forward through a set of doors. She stumbles a bit to catch her balance and when she does, she appreciates the sudden smell of fresh roses. She could do without the bright lights and the underlying, yet strong, scent of sugar. Her nose crinkles as she glances around and feels her face warm when she notices the room is full of beautiful women swarming around various handsome men. Her gaze lingers on a few of them – the tall guy in the back who seems to be the one quiet person in the entire vicinity, the two blondes giggling with each other in the corner, the short kid eating cake, and an attractive female redhead who winked at her when they locked eyes. She tore her gaze away, her blush much stronger and warmer than before as she bites at her bottom lip and shrugs her arms across her body.

A hand lands on her shoulder and she jumps, her breath hitching in her throat.

"I'm sorry they dragged you into this," Haruhi takes their hand off of her with a sympathetic smile.

 _Into what,_  Moriko wonders, but her voice doesn't seem to want to work. She's almost worried about just what all this is about and briefly ponders the idea of some sort of whore house before shaking that out of her head. The headmaster wouldn't allow a whore house inside the school. At least she  _hopes._  She doesn't think that human society has changed  _that_  much since she's been…  _away._

"Hikaru, Kauro, you're late," the one with glasses notes, not even looking up from his clipboard. Moriko squints and thinks back to this morning – if he turns a bit to his left and if the lights were dimmer, then he could have easily been he one that was watching them this morning. The idea of being so close to the one person even Reve is cautious of makes her shift on her feet.  _Reve – Kato – I, uh, I found the guy who was watching us this morning…_

"We thought you and Tono would be happy we snagged a new guest," the twins stick out their tongues at the one with glasses before trotting off to a small group of girls who seem to have been waiting for them if their cheers are anything to go by.

She can feel a small tingling sensation in the back of her mind and breathes a sigh of relief – Reve has restored the mental link between the three of them.

 _'I caught that last bit,'_ Kato's voice comes through,  _'I could always - '_

 _'-No,'_ Reve interrupts before Kato can finish her threat,  _'His name is Kyoya Ootori, according to all the girls' thoughts in my class. They all seem fairly to have some romantic and/or sexual attraction to him. I don't really see the appeal. He's concerning, but not a present threat. We need to maintain our appearance of actual humans and not maim nor kill. Kato, meet me in the second year hall and you can sniff her out. We'll be there soon, Moriko. Stay where you are. Don't let him suspect you.'_

Moriko's bite on her bottom lip is hard enough that if she was human, she would taste blood. Instead it's a chloroplast-like substance that rolls onto her tongue. She hopes they get here soon – she doesn't know if she'll be able to last for long in such a  _strange_  environment. She eyes the flowers and various plants that are scattered through the room, spotting a particularly large one in the corner. Maybe it's big enough to hide her away. She takes one step forward before she gets intercepted by a blonde who bows deeply at her, taking her hand to give it a tender kiss.

"Welcome to the Ouran High School Host Club," his voice is smooth and charming, "Where it's our job to make sure every lady such as yourself is happy. We have every type to cater to your needs – would you like to spend your time with Ootori Kyoya, the Cool Type? Perhaps Morinozuka Takashi, the Silent and Wild Type? Haninozuka Mitsuki, the boy Lolita? The twins – the Mischievous type? Fujiko Haruhi, the natural? Or perhaps I'm more suited to your needs – Souh Tamaki, the charming King of the Host Club?"

Moriko slowly pries her hand out of his grasp, eying him cautiously.  _Every type to cater to my needs?_ Her stomach turns as she swallows thickly, shifting on her feet.  _Kato, Reve, please hurry. I don't want to know exactly what this club does._ She eyes Haruhi in the corner with a small group of women – the only one she  _knows_  that can't  _possibly_  be doing anything scandalous. She can feel it. Haruhi is too nice, too kind, too… too much of a 'gentleman.'

"I – uh – I'll go see Fujiko-kun, thank you," she bolts to the brunette before Tamaki can even protest.

It seems all Haruhi did is blink before Moriko is already at their table, sitting down with panic-ridden big eyes and a quickly beating heart. She gives Haruhi a shaky smile through her flushed face. Haruhi recovers quickly, smiling easily in return, glancing briefly toward the already pouting Tamaki in the corner.

"Is this, uh, normal," Moriko whispers as she follows Haruhi's gaze to see Tamaki shrouded in a dark cloud of angst growing mushrooms as he mumbles to himself, drawing little figures on the floor with his fingertips.

"For him? Yes. For normal people? Not at all."

* * *

Moriko watches the clock more than she watches Haruhi or any of the other hosts and/or guests within the room. She makes a point to not  _once_  look to the twins, who seemed to be putting on some sort of 'brotherly' act through the club's hours. She uses the term  _brotherly_ very loosely. Their act pushes the boundaries of incest in a way that she'll never be able to scrub it free from her mind. But it doesn't necessarily matter now as their act, as well as everyone else's, is done as one of the last guests, aside from Moriko herself, leaves the room. The Host Club is now officially closed and Kato and Reve have yet to show up.

 _'_ _Where are you guys,'_ Moriko thinks desperately, hoping to get some response over the mental link,  _'What's taking so long?'_

' _We're almost there. I only just found Kato, who refused to admit she couldn't find the second year hall,'_ Reve's voice comes through and Moriko relaxes knowing that the link is still up, ' _I offered to go find her, but_ _no_ _the cat_ _has_ _to do this herself.'_

 _'You told me to not sniff out Moriko, not you,'_ Kato's voice snaps, ' _You told me to act like a normal human so I was trying to use the maps!'_

 _'There is nothing normal about you walking around with tissue stuffed in your nose so you don't have to smell! Not to mention how you had your map upside down when I found you!'_ Reve's voice borders on yelling and begins to lose its human-like qualities as it gains a faint, static noise echoing after each word in her head, ' _Use your head, Kato! What part of you even vaguely believed that was normal human behavior!? It took me twenty minutes to find you after I finally gave up waiting because you kept reciting Spanish lullabies to distract me from your location!'_

Moriko just shuts her eyes tightly as her lips thin. It was stupid of her to even believe the two could go one day without some sort of fight. She can't even tell who really starts it sometimes. It's as if they feed off angering and annoying each other. She doesn't speak up this time. There's nothing she can say that could help when they're this deep into fighting. Eventually their voices fade from the mental link, she can only guess that their argument must have turned into a more actually vocal, though hopefully not too physical, fight.

"Tenshi-san," Haruhi speaks up, their eyebrows furrowed a bit in concern, "Are you okay? The club's hours are over so you should get out – Kyoya-san doesn't like it when people linger after hours. Something about losing profit."

They jab a thumb toward the one in glasses in the back – he glances up and Moriko swears that his glasses have that evil tint to them. Like some sort of strange cartoon or anime. Nevertheless, he has a way of looking at her as if she's a specimen under a microscope. A look she's too familiar with. _– 'Her cells are a strange combination of both animal and plant, as if it's caught somewhere in the middle – what's our next step, Doctor?' 'Take a sample – the wings would be a prime subject of study.' 'How large of a sample, Doctor?' 'Just take them both off. Leave the stubs. We'll study just how they connect to its body and nervous system later.' Blinding, sharp pain shoots through her back – she can feel the chloroplast mixture running down her skin._

She rolls her shoulders, absently moving the muscles that connect to the still bandaged stubs on her back that are concealed by her clothing. A human disguise – or form – rids her of her discolored skin, but the stubs are a permanent part of her. She can almost feel her wings brushing close to her skin as they would tuck away under clothing –  _almost._  A shaky breath leaves her lips and she curls into herself, bringing her knees to her chest.  _Has it always been this chilly in here?_

"I'm just waiting for my sisters – well sort of, we're not exactly blood related but they may as well be my sisters. They said they'd be here soon."

 _I don't want to go back to the house alone,_  the words die in her throat, but it doesn't make it any less true. She doesn't have the courage to look up at anyone, her head bows against her knees. Maybe if she stays still and quiet, the memories would stop coming back like this. Maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad. A hand grazes against her back and she jumps out of her seat as if it was the devil himself that touched her. Her eyes are wide and frantic, her vision tinting to a green shade as she struggles to keep her grip on reality. Everything blurs and spins around her. She can only faintly hear voices talking to her, but they slur together and sound as if they're coming from far away. She staggers with a hand to her head, eyes shut tightly as she wills everything to just  _stop._

Between the twins making Moriko retreat even farther by poking and prodding at her with furrowed brows – their words seemingly having no effect, Tamaki going back and forth between yelling at the twins and trying to get his bear with the hope that it may calm Moriko down, Kyoya watching the scene unfold with observant cold eyes, and both Hunny and Takashi making it worse when they approach Moriko themselves, Haruhi simply just wants to scream. They know exactly what's going on. For whatever reason, Moriko seems to be in the mist of some sort of panic attack – Haruhi's own attacks are triggered by thunder, but they doubt that's the case for Moriko.

Haruhi takes a deep breath, their hands clutching at their sides,

"EVERYONE STOP, _"_ Their voice is loud and clear and instantly everyone, aside from the still panicking Moriko, freeze. Haruhi takes a calming, deep breath to ease the headache, "Tamaki-senpai, focus on finding the bear and maybe a blanket, not on the twins. Hikaru, Kauro,  _give her some space_ and make yourselves useful by getting some fresh water and warm milk for her for when she calms down, I don't know which one she'll want, but she'll definitely need a drink. Hunny-senpai, she may want some comfort food, but all we have is cake and that may be too heavy and thick. Go to the school cafeteria and get some cookies. Takashi-senpai, can you gather the pillows and help make a bed on the couch? Kyoya – senpai, don't just stand there, help me help her!"

They scramble to fulfill their orders, not even questioning Haruhi once – the tone of voice made it clear that there is no room for any arguing. Haruhi, however, makes their way to Moriko slowly and gently. Haruhi isn't sure when Moriko had collapsed onto the ground, but she joins her on the floor. Quiet. Peaceful. Gentle. She eyes Kyoya, who hovers nearby in case he could be of help. At least she hopes that's why he's hovering.

"Moriko," Haruhi whispers, the first name basis is strange to her, but Moriko may not respond if her speech is too formal, "Moriko, you need to come back to us, okay? You think you can do that?" There's a small, slow nod and Haruhi breathes a sigh of relief at the response, "Okay. We're going to move you to the couch and you can get some rest here while you wait for your, uh, sisters."

Kyoya's displeasure at that statement doesn't go unnoticed, but Haruhi glares at him to keep him quiet about any protesting. She doesn't care if he adds to her debt. She doesn't care if everyone else leaves and she's left to wait with Moriko in the club room.  _But it's our job to make every girl happy,_  Haruhi notes,  _and I may not always agree with how they do it, Moriko could use some help right now, if she'll accept it._ They stand up slowly together, Haruhi's hand gently holding onto her arm to steady her as they head to the makeshift pile of pillows that Takashi has set up.

Haruhi isn't sure whether to be impressed or annoyed at how overboard everyone seemed to go with her orders. The larger than life pile of pillows. The many fancy glasses – some are filled with water, others with warm milk, but some Haruhi doesn't even want to know what they're filled with. There's three large plates full of various types of food. The pile of blankets mixed in with the pillows makes everything more of a pillow mansion rather than a pillow fort. Tamaki's teddy bear proudly sits at the top.

"I'm okay," Moriko whispers and stands up a bit straighter, wiping at her eyes, "I'm okay, thank you for all of your help. I'm sorry if I caused any problems."

A majority of the hosts give her reassuring smiles – the one that doesn't simply pushes up his glasses, "There are no problems, Tenshi-san, aside from the vase you broke when you collapsed."

Moriko's face drops and Haruhi winces in sympathy. The twins share a disgruntled look between them – displeasure at Kyoya bringing up after Moriko's 'episode' or at the idea of someone new joining them, Haruhi isn't sure. Just when Tamaki is about to speak up, the doors spill open, drawing everyone's attention to their new guests.

Two people enter and Haruhi can't help but feel they're the 'sisters' that Moriko has mentioned. The first to storm through the room is a small foreigner – her skin is tanned, her hair dark and wild, and her eyes burn with a yellow fury. Behind her is a taller, darker skinned girl with eyes to rival even Tamaki's. Both have striking eyes that seem to burn from some inner light. She briefly believes them to be contacts – surely someone who attends this school that's not here on scholarship could afford only the best contacts. But something in her tells her that even the best, most expensive color-tinted contacts couldn't achieve such a vivid color.

Haruhi glances around – Kyoya's gaze is attached firmly to the taller girl, as is Tamaki's. She thinks that means that the taller one must be the new student they mentioned earlier at the beginning of the club. Both Hunny and Takashi are exchanging uncertain glances as they eye the smaller, much more threatening one.

"You  _azenon*!_ You have some nerve," the smaller girl is the one who speaks first, storming straight toward Kyoya, only pausing briefly to mumble something to Moriko that Haruhi doesn't catch, "You cannot charge her for something that broke during a panic attack  _caused_ by you inconsiderate jerks - "

She's blocked off by Takashi and Hunny who force themselves between her and Kyoya, their arms crossed over their chests in a protective manner, daring her to try something. She stands her ground, meeting their gazes evenly as she bares her teeth at them in a sneer.

"Kato," Moriko's voice is weak, but she manages to speak as she moves closer to her sister figure, putting a hand on her arm, "Kato, I'm okay. They didn't do anything wrong and Haruhi-kun," she gestures briefly to the brunette, "Even helped me and got the others to help too. I'm okay."

Almost instantly, Kato undergoes a sudden change. She relaxes her stance and takes a deep breath before turning her attention away from Kyoya and both Takashi and Hunny. When she sees Moriko, her expression softens considerably as she brings her in for a close, comforting hug.

"We could hear from outside door," Kato's Japanese breaks slightly and her accent becomes thicker from emotion, "I just – I wanted to make sure you're safe."

Reve doesn't say anything for the longest while, observing the entire room including its occupants. The twins don't stare at her long when she sends a harsh glare in their direction. She only briefly nods to Tamaki in greeting, but her attention is mostly focused on Kyoya. She feigns a cough into her elbow to gain attention – Kato and Moriko break their hug and move closer to Reve, the three of them standing close enough to resemble strange Siamese triplets.

"I apologize for the inconvenience and disruption," Reve speaks smoothly, her words focused on the clear 'real' leader behind this strange group of men, "I am Effori Reve. This is Skrapi Kato -" Kato's mumble comment about her being able to introduce herself goes mostly ignored, "- We don't have the money to replace the vase at the moment, but perhaps we can come to some sort of compromise?"

Kato's head peeks up, her eyebrows furrowing, ' _We have the money, Reve. Ian's card, remember?'_

_'Take a look around Kato – we may have the money to replace the vase, but I have strong sense that if we stay here as long as we possibly can, we can stay hidden much better. This place already seems much stranger than a majority of things even we do. The perfect cover._ _'_

_'Led by the man most suspicious of us!'_

_'Which gives us the best chance of keeping an eye on him and the closer proximity will also allow me to gently nudge his mind in the other direction when he gets too… bothersome.'_

Kato's eyebrows furrow as she frowns at Reve's words, her arms becoming a bit tighter around her as she does her best to tune out a majority of the conversations going on around her – the strange pair of twins that are mumbling to themselves about how 'strange' they all were and that they didn't 'want any freaks in the club,' only to be cut off by the blonde who scolds them for such behavior and making it very clear that they should welcome any new comers, and Takashi and Hunny are situated behind everyone in a protective, secret bodyguard-like manner as if daring her to make another move. She scratches absently at her twitching ears from the over stimulation of sound.

She watches as Haruhi (as Moriko called them) is being dragged off into the corner by Moriko to have some sort of private discussion. She does her best to ignore anything said between the two out of respect for her sister, but her lips still thin at the lack of personal space between the two.  _Haruhi-kun._ But if  _-kun_  is the honorific for males, as Moriko has taught her, then why is it being used for Haruhi? Despite her appearance, Kato can clearly smell the faint blood that only comes from menstruation coming from them. Her brows furrow farther.  _Is Haruhi a… masklo* birther?_ She can remember a few Katojns that were  _masklo birthers._ Males born with the ability to birth children, born with the female body only to become males later in their lives. She takes a deep breath, closing her eyes tightly, she remembers how those males were praised for that sort of  _gift. A miracle._ A majority becoming the strongest of the strong, or chiefs, or even the subject of  _worship_  in some Katojn clans.

 _Or is Haruhi a malbenita unu,_ Kato's frown deepens –  _a cursed one who simply dresses as a male to hide their identity?_ Males with both the strengths of women and men were praised. But women? Women who could not birth children? Women born with the body of a male to transition into a female later in their life? Many go in hiding, it would not be unusual for one to still dress as a man to avoid abandonment by their families, to avoid getting beaten or killed. Her expression softens as she glances toward Haruhi. Moriko has told her how neither  _masklo birther_ nor  _malbenita unu_  are appreciated or accepted into most human societies, that both are considered less than human.  _Treated like animals at times,_  her fists clench and when she glances back toward her sister and Haruhi, she gives Haruhi a soft smile to easy their nerves.

Haruhi hesitantly smiles back, warily as if unsure as to why Kato would acknowledge them, before turning back to their discussion with Moriko. Kato turns her attention back to Reve and Kyoya, only to see them still arguing about what arrangements should be made - She smirks and leans back against a nearby couch,  _looks like Reve found her match._ She closes her eyes and eases her nerves, content to wait until everything is settled. There's no point in offering her two cents – Reve wouldn't listen to her anyway.

A smell catches Kato's attention – one that was previously masked by the heavy scent of roses, sugar, and perfume. Her nose twitches.  _Chocolate chip cookies._ They smell warm and fresh. Her tongue slips across her lips and she tries her hardest to keep the purr down that's building in her throat. She turns on her heels and follows her nose to find a strange scene. A mountain of soft pillows and blankets. Plates of cookies. Glasses of warm milk….  _Perhaps this won't be so bad._

* * *

Kato has most of their attention – well she has Takashi's and Hunny's. Her threatening stance against Kyoya does not bode well with either of them. Takashi stands by with his arms crossed and a deep frown on his face. Any threat to any members of his family – whether it's blood relation or those within in the club – makes a fire burn within his chest. He can see the same fire burning in Hunny's eyes as well and he knows that like him, his cousin is taking this potential threat very seriously despite the grin on his bright face.

But he has to admit, it is hard to see the girl as a threat when she's buried within the confines of the pillow fortress. He can't always see her, but the rustle of a few pillows every once in a while helps him keep track of her relative movement. Every few minutes, her head or a hand pokes from the makeshift mountain to reach for more cookies. He almost chuckles when he sees her hand snatch Tamaki's bear from the top of the mountain and he wonders what she could possibly be doing with the bear. His hardened resolve softens at the almost childish behavior.

"It's hard to be mad at her when she's acting like this," Hunny notes, voicing Takashi's own thoughts, "I guess she's really that mean after all, huh Takashi? She did threaten Kyoya-san, but he  _was_  being mean to Moriko-chan."

There's a rustle of the pillows and Hunny grabs one of the plates, stealing a few cookies for himself before offering the plate out. A hand pokes from the pillows to grab some of the cookies followed by a familiar face, whose previous joy seems to falter. Takashi raises an eyebrow in question, taking a step forward to offer help if she were to decide to step out. She doesn't. Instead, with cookies in hands, she refuses to meet their gazes, her eyes shifting around as if she can't focus on just one thing.  _She's nervous,_ Takashi notes,  _almost… sheepish._

"I… I am not that mean," Kato coughs out the words as if it's hard for to say, "…And I apologize for my behavior this morning."

Her apology briefly takes Takashi off guard, not excepting to hear such a thing from her. All he could do is just stare at her blankly, failing to come up with any words. Before either of them could acknowledge her apology, she had already ducked back into the mountain with the rest of the cookies.

* * *

It's another full hour before Reve finally gets tired of bargaining and settles for gently pressing into the mind of her component to make him yield. She, like everyone else, just wants this to end so they can all go home and get some rest. It's already just after six o'clock. She can see the others from the corners of her eyes. The tall one – Takashi – and the small boy – Hunny – are hovering around the mountain of blankets and pillows, looking for Kato, who has buried herself so far into it that there's no hope of really finding her. She notes that the teddy bear that was on the top of said mountain when they came in is gone so at one point Kato must have at least gotten that high. Moriko and Haruhi are in a strange conversation with the twins and Souh, who has come by quite a few times to add his two cents to the debate between herself and Kyoya. He apparently favors the three girls to stay in the Host Club as hostesses.

"Fine," Kyoya finally admits, pushing his glasses up farther, "All three of you will stay within the Host Club as hostesses who keep twenty-five percent  _each_  of your profits, ten perfect toward club funding, and the remaining sixty-five percent goes to paying off the vase. With those calculations in mind, you will  _each_  have to get a  _thousand guests_   _minimum_  to pay off this debt. All merchandise that is sold on the website that is yours will have validation by you before sale. All photo will be validated for sale, but profits will go toward the debt. Do we have a deal?"

Reve smirks before shaking Kyoya's hand, "You have yourself a deal, Ootori-san, but I will need that in writing and signed by tomorrow."

His eyes narrow, but agrees to her conditions, begrudgingly admitting to himself that she was handling the situation in the same manner that he would. It doesn't stop him from hating the clear smugness in her eyes.

"Kato, Moriko, are you ready to go," Reve's voice is steady and void of the fatigue she feels inside.

Hunny jumps back when Kato's head appears out from the mountain of pillows and blankets right beside him. Her pupils are a bit larger than normal, her happiness of her current position is clear – every cat loves warm blankets and she's no exception. She winces, hiding her head a bit as she mumbles an apology for scaring him as she wiggles her way farther out of the mountains. She mumbles incoherently under her breath, cursing the way the soft fortress sinks under her weight and makes it difficult to steady. A hand reaches out to her, offering her help, and she scowls. No warm blanket can make her accept that offer, especially from the most masculine and intimidating one there – well the most intimidating  _human_  that is.

"-I do not need your help," Kato's nose twitches as her lips curls before she spots Reve's disapproving glare, " - But  _thank you,_ Takashi-san."

She scurries off to join Reve, Moriko following close behind her after a quick farewell to everyone. The trio exist the room together with Moriko holding Kato's arm as if it's a life line while Kato's own hand hesitantly grasps at the corner of Reve's shirt – as if there's a fear that if they let go, they would get separated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Azenon – ass
> 
> *Maslo – Male
> 
> *Malbenita unu – Cursed one


	6. Intermission: The Bonds That Bind Us

**Third Person**

Reve sighs deeply, rubbing her temples – she hates that she finds herself doing this more and more often as of late. She hates that it's  _the cat_  that is usually the source of her migraines. There are times that maybe,  _maybe_  if she closed her eyes long enough, wished  _hard_ enough, that it'd all go away. It doesn't. But it does make her wish even more that she had the heart to use her abilities on the cat to make her more….  _Calm. Peace and quiet,_  Reve silently pleads,  _that's all I want._

"If you keep your fingers on your temples like that, they'll stick," Moriko whispers, bringing Reve back to the situation at hand.

Reve simply stares at Moriko, as if it would take too much energy to physically, or mentally, even give a reply. The vibrant violet of her eyes does nothing to hide how tired she is. Even her normally straight and fairly perfect posture is slowly slipping and slumping. She glances toward Kato –  _the bane of my existence-_ , who is still pacing back and forth of the living room in her true form despite Reve's constant 'orders' not to. She can see the many strands of Kato's fur already ruining both the carpet and what little furniture they have and she only barely managed to close all their curtains before anyone saw a giant beast in the living room. How the cat can even move that much in a fitted space is a wonder to her.

Kato stops pacing. The glow of her yellow irises shine in the shadows of the room as she glances toward Reve and Moriko. She lets out a snort before the transformation between her forms begins. The fur sheds away, coating the carpet in a layer of black fur. The sharp canines retreat into a forming human jaw as the claws retract into black nails. Kato stands before them as a human, breathing and panting heavily, before she plops down on the couch. Reve wonders where she got the stuffed teddy bear from, but she can see Kato reach for it and tuck it close to her. Reve doesn't think it's the only thing that Kato snagged either and hopes Kyoya won't add it to their debt.

 _Kyoya,_ Reve thinks bitterly. He, that club, and Moriko's own foolishness in being led into such an environment, is what led to this head-aching situation in the first place. Sure, the club will be a great hiding place – their own quirky habits and mannerisms as well as any potential slip ups are less likely to be acknowledged or even noticed in a place as strange as the Ouran High School Host Club – and it does lead to them earning some extra money on the side. She'd hate to put all the financial burden on Ian.

But the cat just doesn't see it that way. She, in Reve's eyes, is refusing to see reason, thus the stressful pacing began almost as soon as they arrived home.

"I think you should handle this one," Moriko whispers softly, her eyes hooded as she stares a bit longer at Kato before glancing toward Reve.

For a brief moment, there's a flicker of panic in Reve's eyes – a moment where she doesn't know what to do or how to respond. She doesn't hide it as well as she thinks – Moriko spots it easily, offering a small reassuring smile as she stands up, placing her hand on Reve's shoulder.

"She's your sister too," Moriko whispers into Reve's ear, giving her shoulder a small squeeze.

With that said, Moriko disappears into her bedroom, hoping she made the right decision to leave the two to sort out some of their problems. Reve watches her leave, faltering a bit as a plea for her to come back dies in her throat –  _she's not my sister._  She swallows thickly and stands from her place at the dining table to wander into the living room. She hesitates behind the couch where Kato still lays, eying the fur lining their furniture and carpet.

"You've never left that much fur before."

Kato simply glares at her, still panting though it's not as strong as it was before, "Pardon me for being so  _rude –_ I'll vacuum  _my_   _mess_ up later."

Reve winces, daring to move closer, a hand lingering in the air as she briefly thinks about offering the Katojns a comforting hand on the shoulder. Her hand falls to her side, her face dropping with it as her eyes look down at Kato with something akin to worry shining behind them.

"I meant to ask," Reve's voice was much softer, "If it was normal for you to loose so much fur and if it was something we should be concerned about…"

There's a moment of silence between the two as Kato breaks her gaze, looking away from Reve as she bites her lower lip. Her body curls into a small ball as she hugs the teddy bear closer to her. Stiffly yet slowly, Reve makes her way to sit on the couch by Kato's feet. Her ankles cross neatly at the floor, her hands resting in her lap as she merely gazes at Kato, waiting for her to speak up. She doesn't. The longer the silence drags on, the more Reve finds herself shifting in her seat before she finally stands back up. She grabs a nearby blanket, one she remembers being in the mountain of blankets that were in the host club, and gently places it on Kato. The cat-like being responds eagerly, tucking the blanket closer to her as she curls into herself a bit tighter.

"….Reve..."

Reve is half way to the hall when Kato speaks. She turns back to see Kato peeking out from the blanket with big, wide, teary eyes. If she squints, she can see Kato's lips trembling and something about the image before her causes a deep pain within her.

"...The mental link, Reve," Kato's voice wavers, "…. Am I really the bane of your existence?"

Reve's expression softens considerably as a tightness forms in her throat. Regret and shame claw at her chest and her hands tighten at her sides. She closes her eyes and she can feel the control over this physical form falter slightly, causing the edges of her form to flicker briefly like a TV with a weak signal and can only give you a poor, static-filled, blurry image. Her form completely vanishes after a moment, leaving a misty, violet smoke with a hard glow in its center that only vaguely resembles a human form. The mist surrounds Kato, offering a comforting and warming energy.

 _'Honestly, Kato,'_ Reve's voice coming in through the mental link, no longer having a physical voice… ' _No. You're not, nor do I think you ever will be, the bane of my existence. I spoke out of irritation and annoyance and anger. Not from my heart. I apologize if that hurt you.'_

Kato lets out a deep mewl of distress as she shifts on the couch. Despite the comforting energy Reve gives and the light, almost dew-like texture from her misty form, her skin itches for more physical contact. A hug. A pet. Something. Anything. Her eyes close and she curls a bit tighter, opting to stay silent as she muses over Reve's words. She feels the mist retreat and peaks an eye open to see Reve's physical form is once again present, if a bit blurred around the edges. Reve lets out a soft, awkward cough, clearing her throat as she holds her arms out and open. Kato's eyes open farther than they ever have been.

"….Reve?"

"….The offer isn't going to be up forever."

For a brief moment, Kato simply stares in bewilderment. She doesn't have a single memory of Reve  _ever_  offering a hug. But it doesn't take long before a small smile works its way onto her face as she accepts the gesture, wrapping her arms tightly around the taller girl, burying her face into Reve's chest. Kato breathes in the scent of clean linen and fabric softener, no doubt from the clothes. But there's underlying scent of fresh mildew and mint and Kato knows that  _that_  is the scent of Reve. She tries her hardest to ignore how her shoulders and chest tremble in Reve's grasp. Her eyes are closed tight to help prevent the tears from falling as she thinks back to Reve's earlier thoughts that came through the mental link.

"….Do you really not consider me a sister," Kato whispers, her fingers tightly grasping the back of Reve's shirt, almost afraid to let go.

Reve pulls back to add a bit of distance between them, not a lot but enough that they can look at each other more properly. A neatly filed nail and finger press against Kato's lips to keep her from speaking farther. Violet eyes gaze intensely into vibrant golden amber. Neither of them dare breathe. The finger pressed against Kato's lips move to the side of her face as Reve gently grasps Kato's head and leans forward until her forehead brushes against Kato's. A deep, low purr vibrates in Kato's throat as she returns the gesture, gently butting her head against Reve's before sliding out of her grasp in favor of rolling over onto her lap.

 _Cats,_  Reve thinks in amusement, careful to keep her thoughts to herself and out of the mental link,  _bunting* always works._ She gazes down at the person in her lap with fondness, gently rubbing her fingers through Kato's hair as the cat quickly falls asleep, softly snoring. Her eyes briefly flickering over the exposed scars on Kato's bare skin before she lets out a pained sigh.

" _..._ Not a sister," it's almost painful for her to say, even if it's just a soft whisper, but she can't risk Moriko hearing this over the mental link, "… I don't know  _what_  you are to me, Kato."

* * *

Even in her dreams, Reve does nothing. Normally, this time at night, she's already caught up in a dream involving freedom without fear or roaming the streets of Paris with money to burn and a smile – on her good nights, that is. Other nights, it's nightmares. Sometimes her own. Sometimes it's Moriko's nightmares that are so horrible that Reve can't help but get sucked into them. Other times it is Kato's. She doesn't know which nightmares – hers, Moriko's, Kato's, or some combination – are the most brokenheartedly terrifying.

This time, Kato and Moriko seem to be dreaming peacefully and she doesn't want to intrude on one of the first good night's sleep they've had. Instead, her dream-scape is a perfect replica of the empty night streets of Paris, France. It's exactly like she remembers it. From the cobblestone to each brick and crack. She can smell the distant bakery from here. She can see the Eiffel tower lit up brighter than any star. It'd be so easy to believe that  _this_  is  _real._  That it's not simply an escape in her mind. It'd be so easy to wander through the streets and lose herself to the pleasant memories of her home.

But she doesn't move to go explore. She merely lays on a comfortable bench on the street. Wisps of her true form slip through the gaps in the bench's wood. She doesn't feel like moving. She doesn't feel like  _anything._ It's just deep numbness that sinks so far into her core. For being a strange combination of fog and light, she feels oddly heavy.

" _Mon cheri,"_  a familiar and comforting voice reaches her ears and hearing her native tongue of French melts a small portion of her heart, "Are you going to lay there and do nothing all night? Is my visit for naught?"

She doesn't even have to physically move to look at him. She can see him perfectly. Just standing by the bench, watching her with amusement dancing in his yellow-violet eyes (the colors have a striking, vivid split down the middle of his irises) and his hands shoved into the pockets of a blazer. His skin the color of moonlight, a stark contrast to her own. His hair is darker than night and there are times she swears that it appears more blue than black.

He just smirks at her as if he knows something she doesn't – something she knows is impossible. It's her mind. Not his. She doubts he even has a dream-scape of his own. Dreams, as every Dream Weaver knows, is a gateway. A gateway to enter other's minds, to see their thoughts, memories, feelings, everything. It also serves as a great long-distance communicator and due to their unique ability, they can pass solid objects to each other through their dreams. Hence why she was able to get the credit cards from Ian in the first place.

But a dream-scape of their own is their own mental palace. Something that takes a lot of energy and power to build for themselves, but is worth it in the end when they can't face their own real dreams, or nightmares, or dare to venture into others. A halfbreed such as the one before her – someone whose only  _half_ Dream Weaver – isn't able to do so. Their own mental ability cannot handle such strain, which consequently is also why their use of the gateway itself is limited and why they only possess one solid form.

" _Go away,"_  her voice echoes all around them, coming from the city itself rather than her actual form, " _I'm not in the mood for any games,_ _Ian._ _"_

He clicks his tongue in distaste, sitting down on the bench beside her. His fingertips graze against some of the wisps of her misty form – they disperse like thin fog at the touch.

"I'm your brother, Reve, I can't just leave you to wallow in self-pity."

" _Half-brother,_ " she corrects, but despite the slight sharpness of her tone, they both know there's no real menace in her words.

Ian merely hums at the correction, waving it off with ease, "Half-brother, brother – whichever, whatever. Family is family. I know that and I  _know_ you know that. Even if we don't have much of a real family anymore."

She doesn't offer any comment. If anything, her form seems to seep through the bench even more at the mention of her family. She can still see them all so clearly. The mother that abandoned her. Her father trying his hardest to take care of her himself until he had met another Supernatural being – not a Dream Weaver, but a  _cat_ with envious, enticing grace and beauty whom later became Ian's mother. Then she had a new family. She can still remember her stepmother, Sofia, treating her as if she was her own daughter. When Reve was seven, she firmly believed that if she looked close enough she could see the stars themselves in Sofia's dark hair. She once overheard her father say that God himself had melted down the finest gold jewelry of the world and poured them into Sofia's eyes. But when she was eight, she simply remembered Sofia carrying her and Ian off to safety as their father fought off the men that threatened to capture them.

Sofia had dumped Ian into a ditch a few miles before she had tried to drop Reve into a safe spot with the hope that if they were spread out and she ran off that the men would follow her. It almost worked. She had just tucked Reve into a separate ditch before the men had shot Sofia through the head with no mercy. Reve was soon discovered. Ian was lucky enough to get away.

A soft sniffle escapes from her as she shifts into a solid form to be hugged tightly by her younger brother. Her emotions and memories are strong enough that he can't help but feel and see them for himself. For a moment, they merely sit on the bench with trembling shoulders and sniffling noses.

"...Mom would be proud of you," Ian admits softly, "Of both of us. We both found new families… You know Rosie and I are starting a little pack of our own? Life's too short to wait, you know… Which is why you should sort out whatever feelings you have now rather than later. No matter who those feelings may be towards – oh don't give me that look, you don't think that I,  _your brother_   _who actively comes into your own mind,_ wouldn't know?"

Reve manages to crack a small smile, the corners of her lips twitching as she rests on the bench against her brother. His words, however, cause her to swallow thickly as a sinking feeling settles in her gut. Her brother may be right, she knows, but it's better for her to keep quiet and shove her feelings down. Like she always does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *bunting (e.i. 'headbutting') – a gesture done by cats that's reserved for social bonding, comforting, and friendly purposes. Typically due to the scent glands that cover a cat's cheeks to mark territory, but in Kato's case 'bunting' is comforting, loving gesture that's used to improve social bonds. With it being initiated by Reve shows an open willingness to improve the bond between them, thus having a comforting effect on Kato.
> 
> What is the bond between Kato and Reve? Reve doesn't consider Kato to be a sister, but if that's the case, what exactly does Reve believe her to be? Or believe her to have the potential to become? 
> 
> This is gonna be a really long fic with some fairly complicated relationships. Sometimes those relationships are happy. Other times not so much.
> 
> Still, I enjoyed writing a bit more into Reve's way of thinking as well as giving more of a glimpse into what it is to be a Dream Weaver and showing the interactions and relationship between her and Ian.
> 
> And in case it wasn't clear, Reve's stepmother (Sofia - Ian's birth mother) is a Katojns. Ian himself is part Dream-Weaver, part Katojns.


	7. Fantasies

**Third Person**

Their morning has become a regular schedule – a schedule that's not best to interfere with. Yet Reve has a hard time bringing herself to wake up the sleeping cat. Kato, who has changed into her true, full form as a Katojns, is bundled in the many blankets on the couch sound asleep with the 'stolen' teddy bear under her large paws. After their talk last night, she can't bring herself to be mad about Kato's transformation over night. She shakes her head with a sigh and eyes the clock. Kato has to wake up soon if she needs to shower and eat before school. But she hesitates and hovers, not wanting to disrupt the Katojn's peaceful dreams. With a heavy heart and mindful of Moriko's watching eye from the dining room, Reve steps closer to the couch and gives the cat a quick shove that rolls her off the couch – a feat only accomplished with the help of minor telekinesis as the cat easily weighs too much for Reve to move on her own.

A large yowl escapes Kato as she thrashes around the floor trying to make sense of her surroundings at her sudden jerk to the real world. Harsh eyes take in the scene around her and noting the lack of a threat, she merely huffs at Reve before stretching her large form out. The teddy bear is gently taken into her mouth as she trots off to the bathroom for a shower.

"You can't shower in that form," Reve calls after her, "You'll clog up the drains! And don't take that bear with you in the shower, it'll get ruined!"

She receives a disgruntled series of noises as a response before a teddy bear is tossed out from the direction of the hall and into her hands. She catches it with ease as she hears the shower faucet turn on. She swallows thickly and rolls her shoulders in an attempt to roll off any mental images coming to her mind – the shiver, however, is something she can't as easily shake off as the thought of Kato clogging the drain is an admittedly horrifying one as she knew she'd be the one that has to clean it. She gently puts the teddy bear on the pile of disheveled blankets.

"You do know she stole that thing from that club," Moriko points out and Reve merely shakes her head in acknowledgment.

"I know…."

"...And all those blankets," Moriko drags on, only to receive a more depressed sigh from the other girl.

Reve moves through the kitchen, grabbing the still warm coffee pot and pouring the rest of its remains into her coffee cup until it was on the brink of overflowing. She sets the coffee pot back at its place on the counter before grabbing a lid for the coffee cup. Light bags dip under her eyes and the usual violet glow is dimmed ever slightly. Her feet drag and make a tad bit more noise than usual against the floor.

"Reve," Moriko's voice is hesitant and unsure, "I know its' not exactly my business, but..."

She pauses, closing her mouth, refusing to meet Reve's eyes. Words that she meant to say choke in her throat and she swallows thickly before shaking her head - "Nothing. It's nothing, nevermind."

Reve cocks her head to the side, her eyebrows furrowed as she gently probes at the surface of Moriko's mind to hopefully get some idea of what she was about to say. When her stare gets a bit too intense and her efforts are proved worthless due to Moriko shoving whatever she was going to say deep down into her subconscious, Reve decides the best course of action is to take a few more sips of her coffee and act as if she never tried to probe her friend's mind in the first place.

However, Reve cannot help but raise her eyebrows when in Kato saunters into the kitchen dripping wet. A puddle is already forming at her feet. A soaked towel clings to her body and her hair resembles a drowned bird's nest. Her eyes are large and wide as she looks up at them, one of her hands gesturing, if a bit discordantly, toward the bathroom.

"I – I broke the faucet."

* * *

The teddy bear finds its way into Kato's book bag for the day. She holds onto it tightly by her side, protectively, afraid it will fall out. A hand cupping the bottom of the bag's seams as she wanders through the crowded halls. A stern glare and a curled lip, she learns, gets a majority of the student population to part for her. At least she knows where she's going this time. She just wants to get there as quickly as she possibly,  _humanly_ can. Her flip-flops, dangerously inappropriate for such an environment, slap between her heel and the floor. The sooner she gets to class the sooner she can go back to sleep. Her still-wet hair clings to her scalp and gently soaks through the upper back section of her shirt – something no one is brave enough to comment on as she finally finds her place in class.

Kato slides into the seat with ease, carefully tucking her bag in her lap under the desk. She runs her hands through her hair with a scowl, trying best to wring out what's left of the moisture; it creates a small puddle behind her chair, dangerously close to the person seated behind her. Her nose crinkles. She still feels wet. The water itches at her scalp and head causing her to shift in her seat, pawing at the soaked section on the back of her shirt. A huff of frustration leaves her nostrils as she gives a sharp shake of her head. The water droplets fly off across the room, causing many of her peers to whisper and look at her in disgust or annoyance. She swallows a growl building in her throat and lays her head down on her desk. The water from her hair circles her head, making the desktop a bit moist to the touch, but it feels cool against her cheek. She settles in easily, sleeping her feet out of her flip-flops and tucking them under rear in her seat. She absently notes the smell of sweets and musk entering the room, closing her eyes as she rests. Her chest rises and falls with steady breaths, for once her mind is at peace. There is a small part of her that misses the tingling, familiar sensation in the back of her mind that's usually there from Reve's mind link, but Reve made it clear that there won't be any sort of mind link today unless it's an emergency. Her reasoning was a bad migraine, but there was something about the way she said it that still strikes Kato as odd. But a whole day to have her thoughts to herself wins over any suspicions she has over Reve's reasoning.

Hunny spots Kato the moment he walks into the classroom. Her hair creates a dark pool across her desk and her arms and face are tucked into its depth. He tugs on Takashi's sleeve and points at the two empty seats behind her, the larger boy gives a solid nod understanding the question. They don't hesitate sitting down, despite the fact that they're both acutely aware of the way many of the girls in the class are whispering about their choice of seating.

" _I can't believe that freaky foreigner gained Hunny-senpai and Mori-senpai's attention already, it's so unfair. I've been trying to do that for years..."_

" _Ugh she's a freak. I swear I've heard her growl, just like the animal she is I suppose. I still don't believe that she can actually afford to go here. Look at her, she doesn't even care."_

" _She looks like a drowned rat…"_

" _They should be sitting by me, at least I wear real clothes."_

Hunny can't hide the frown on his face and when he turns to Takashi, he can see that he too is clearly unhappy about the whispers stretching out their the class. As Hunny scoots his seat and desk a bit closer to Kato, Takashi watches the girl closely. She seems fresh out of the shower, water ruining her clothes and creating a dark spot across her back. Flip-flops are discarded beneath her. He can't see her face and hopes that she can't hear the things being said about her. He can see a teddy bear poking out of her bag and raises an eyebrow. He reaches past Hunny for the bear. A small growl comes from beneath the pool of dark hair and a hand shoots out to grab his wrist. His eyes go wide at the strong grip and he can feel sharp nails digging into his skin. Her head turns and yellow eyes are narrowed at him in warning.

"Mine."

Hunny leans forward in his seat and looks down in curiosity. He focuses specifically on the grip Kato has on Takashi's wrist before he notices that Takashi was reaching for the bear in the bag.

"That's actually Tamaki-senpai's bear, Kato-chan."

There's an edge in his voice, but there's hardly a reaction from Kato. She looses her grip on Takashi's hand and he brings it back, close to his chest, discretely rubbing the small nail indentations along his skin. She grabs her bag, stuffing the bear farther inside of it, and places it in her lap before laying back on her desk to go back to sleep. Hunny's eyes narrow, but knowing he nor Takashi can do anything at the particular moment, he lets it go. For now.

"I'm surprised you didn't get out of her grip sooner, Takashi," Hunny absently comments, leaning back in his seat with a smile on his face, but his eyes never leave Kato's back.

Takashi frowns, looking down at his wrist with concern, for a moment, he thinks about telling the truth. He didn't get it out of it sooner because he couldn't. His hand was only freed because she choose to let go. He swallows the comment down and merely grunts in response, but can't let go of the small suspicions building in his chest.

* * *

Like Kato, Reve spends her morning in class with her head against her desk, breathing quiet and heavy. She hates when she gets too up in her head, in a figurative more human sense, but the image of Kato this morning burns into her mind and across her skin. She closes her eyes and she can still see Kato's tanned skin glistening with water. The water slowly trailing down broad shoulders and a sharp collar bone before falling lower into a more dangerous location. Her yellow eyes looked so wide and innocent, almost helpless. Even the way she spoke, her deeper voice trailing through the air softly. But Kato is hardly helpless.  _No,_ Reve breathes,  _she's an animal._ _Rough. Loud. Aggressive._  Reve can't seem to open her eyes even as her imagination stirs. Her surroundings seem to disappear as she looses herself within a fantasy. Kato picks her up easily, resting her hands on Reve's rear as her legs wrapped around the Katojn's waist. She can feel Kato's nails turn into small, sharp claws that dig into her skin. Kato's lips are a bit chapped and rugged and her canines bite into Reve's lower lip. She breathes out a sigh and forces herself to swallow down the fantasy that turns her cheeks red.

 _Half-human, half-dream weaver. I think it's time that I act more like the later, this is getting ridiculous._ She curses at herself for her lack of control and tries to focus on the teacher droning on in front of a blackboard. Her face turns into a more neutral expression as her skin turns back into its more natural shade. Her knuckles, however, are a few more shades lighter as she grips her pencil tight in her fist.  _Kato isn't into me in that manner,_ she reasons, breathing deeply,  _She hardly even likes me as it is. This is just sexual frustration from my human genetics bringing itself to light._ She refuses to think about their 'moment' the previous night and instead, thinks about her family tree. She's half-human. Things like this are bound to happen eventually as she is coming more mature in her human form. It's normal. A lot humans and half-humans deal with this. She just has to suppress it just like she has the others. Reason it out of her system.  _It's just Kato's strong form. Her sharp jawline. Her broad shoulders that could hold anything – anyone… Her muscular tone that traces across every inch of her body. Her tanned beautiful skin._

She forgets to breathe and when she comes back to reality it's with a large gasp of air loud enough for both Tamaki and Kyoya to look back at her. She's almost sure that Kyoya, however, had been watching for some time judging by the gleam in his eyes. Tamaki, however, is merely looking at her in deep concern; it's the type of concern that, if on the face of someone you've only known for a few days (if that), is usually only there if they suspect something is  _seriously_  wrong. She swallows thickly, sits up straight, and holds her head high hoping the flush is gone from her face. She wonders when the teacher moved from the front of the room off to the side and what all the appearingly random words are doing on the board.

"Are you okay, Reve-chan," Tamaki asks in a low-whisper as to not be caught by the teacher.  _Interesting I didn't think he could be qui_ _et._ Reve hardly looks at him, focusing most of her attention on the words on the board, wondering if she can piece that puzzle together. All else fails, she could subject herself to reading through the teacher's mind to get the answers she needed.  _In the end, graduating and succeeding through this human school is what truly matters._

When it becomes clear that he won't get an answer from her, Tamaki hesitantly turns around, his eyebrows furrowed with concern. He glances toward Kyoya, hoping maybe he would have some sort of answer or perhaps question Reve himself, only to find his best friend's eyes on Reve like she was the most complex puzzle in the world. Tamaki's known him long enough to know that look well. He shakes his head with a sigh.

Reve's pencil snaps when the visions return to her suddenly, a breathless gasp leaving her lips as her mind becomes fuzzy with the fantasies. She stands abruptly, slamming her hand against the desk.

"I need to use the restroom."

She doesn't wait for the teacher's approval before she's out the door, a flush forming across her cheeks.  _Stupid cat._

She nearly slams the classroom door behind her. Her heels click against the tiled floor as she breaks into a brisk walk toward the women's bathroom down the hall.  _Strong, toned muscles wrapping around her tightly, holding her close. Sharp canines biting into her neck._ She walks faster and bursts through the bathroom's door. Her flush spread across her cheeks and down her chest as she stops short.

"Kato," her voice is void of breath and quiet enough it's barely heard, "What are you doing here?"

For a moment, she believes that her abilities are playing tricks on her. Maybe even causing an illusion or hallucination to help satisfy her fantasies – or perhaps her fantasies are getting bad enough that her powers are manifesting them before her eyes. If that's the case, then she'd rather it be here than in the classroom. Still, she can't quite grasp the scene before her. Kato stands there in front of the bathroom mirrors, her shirt discarded and set on the counter of the sink, wringing out her hair. She forgets to breath when Kato shakes, her hair swirling around her, wet droplets dripping off of toned muscles. She can feel her form faltering and she's thankful the bathroom is empty. Then she notices the bag on the floor by Kato's feet, a familiar teddy bear sticking out of the top.  _Reality it is then._ She's not sure why that's disappointing.

"The teacher told me that I can't sit her classroom soaking wet," Kato growls, giving another shake before reaching for the air-dryer, it shoots a blast of air out that takes her by surprise, jumping back with frantic eyes.

Reve sighs, her 'excitement' wearing thin as she watches Kato repeatedly reach for the automated air-dryer, only to rear back every time it shot air out. The cat reaches out again only for Reve to grab her wrist and hold it as air shots out. Her plan fails miserably when Kato turns with a frightened yowl, digging her claws into Reve's arm before grabbing her shirt, pulling it and running out the door.

Reve looks down at her arm, gushing with a strange mix of purple and red. Pain shoots up her arm. She takes a deep breath before she lets out the longest string of curses that's ever left her lips.

Out of the bathroom, down the hall, two lefts, in the first classroom on the right, Moriko sits in her desk and wishes that the mental link was back has the distinct feeling that somehow, someway, despite it being in the middle of class hours, that Reve and Kato had a falling out of some sorts. She sighs deeply and slouches into her seat. She doesn't know what it will take to get those two to get along. She's beginning to get to a point where she thinks they never will. She's had to have tried everything there is to try at this point, with the exception of therapy knowing that neither would ever agree to it. She wouldn't put a therapist through that type of torture either.

_Guess this means I'm stuck as the peace keeper – there are worst things in the world to be, I guess._


	8. Customer's Satisfaction

**Third Person**

Despite the twins' pushing, Moriko insists on the fact that she will get to Music Room Three later. She knows that no matter what deal Reve made with that Kyoya that there will be force needed to bring Kato to the room. She sighs heavily as she looks for the cat-like humanoid. She wouldn't have left. She couldn't have gone home without her or Reve, nor were there many places she would be able to hide that didn't involve interacting with a lot of people. She wishes that Reve would set the mental link back up to ease both her worries and shorten her search time. Something tells her if she's late that Kyoya wouldn't be too pleased. Especially on their first day as suppose 'hostesses.'

 _Hostess._ Moriko shakes her head.  _What does that even mean?_ Were they going to swoon over guys that came to visit them all day? Talk gossip with girls? Flirt with both genders? Make cookies or something to win the customers over? What does one do as a hostess? Do they have to wear maid uniforms like a maid cafe? Will they have to put on some outrageous act just to get the customer's attention? She wouldn't necessarily mind having to act if needed, but Kato would never be able to do anything without being pissed off about it and Reve would downright refuse. There has to be a line drawn somewhere, she supposes, and it's likely that line is the ribbon that ties around a maid's apron.

She spots a head of familiar black hair dart around the corner and lights up. Her feet take off running after the form, grinning ear to ear, knowing full well that Kato could easily out run her. The cat is already a good ten feet ahead and Moriko knows she's not giving it her all. She glances around the hall – empty aside from an upcoming potted planet. Her smile turns more devious and with a flick of her wrist, vines from the potted plant shoot out and wrap themselves around Kato's ankles. She falls to the floor with disgruntled yowl. Moriko catches up more easily as Kato fiercely claws her way out of the veins, glaring at Moriko.

"I would've stopped if you asked," Kato hisses, but Moriko merely raises an eyebrow, questioning the statement. Kato falters. "Okay – I just - just call off the plant."

The vines grow thicker and become tighter around her ankles, Kato curses under her breath as she glare intensifies. Moriko stands her ground fearlessly.

"I'll let you go if you promise to come to that host club thing,  _willingly,_ without hurting anyone."

Kato whines, "But I -" She lets out another string of curses, clawing more in one last vain attempt of escape before she finally accepts defeat. She crosses her arms sternly across her chest as her lips turn into a pout. "I won't hurt anyone."

Moriko stares at her closely for a few more moments, but the large kitten-eye effect that Kato has when she pouts makes it hard to disagree with anything the Katojn could say. Moriko sighs in a strange mix of defeat and victory. With a flick of her wrist, the vines detach themselves from Kato's ankles and return to their normal position with the pot. For a moment, she expects Kato to go against her word, but Kato still stood here. If a bit begrudgingly. She refused to meet Moriko's eyes – it reminded her of the way cats look away to avoid fights.

"Remember what you said," Moriko warns, knowing the Katojn's habit for violence.

Kato has the gull to look innocent, grinning from ear to ear in a way that reminds Moriko of a cat that finally caught the canary. It's not friendly nor warm nor even welcoming. It's unnerving. Predatory even. Moriko shivers and pushes that feeling away for now, chalking it up to something so primal that it can't be explained. She's shaken out of that train of thought by Reve's own message ringing through the both of their minds.

_The club starts soon. Hurry up – we all still need introductions on what it is exactly we have do here._

Moriko nudges Kato to stop her growling as they head Reve's words and continue to the Host Club. Kato noticeably stays far behind Moriko, dragging her feet along the floor with heavy steps, her arms crossed hotly with a scowl. Moriko rolls her eyes at the behavior, but is silently thankful that at least the cat is coming willingly.  _Well now she is anyway._

"It won't be so bad."

Despite her words, she doesn't sound so sure of herself. But anything is better than the dead, tense silence between them during their walk. Kato huffs, snorting in disbelief.

"Try to sound a bit more believing. This  _club_ just reeks of bad news and humans with issues."

There's a small growl underlying her words, her nose crinkling with hatred.  _Disgusting humans with issues. Humans who think that they dare pose a threat to me. Humans that refuse to acknowledge there are things stronger than them out there. Humans with such confusing social trends._ She doesn't see why they would even be here – there had to be something else, something  _easier,_ that they could've done to hid in the first place. Something that didn't involve such close contact and interaction with humans. They could have been perfectly content roughing it in the wilds of Japan or some secluded island.

Her eyes drift to her sister. Kato's words seem to have an effect as Moriko's demeanor has faltered, sagging as if she's given up trying to change Kato's mind. Kato's eyes soften and she has to remind herself that what may have been perfectly fine with her –  _perfect_ in general – wouldn't have been best for everyone. Especially not her sister who, for some reason, seems to like mingling with all the humans. She swallows thickly. For her sister, she has to at least try. But only time will tell just exactly how much she can try before she breaks.

"To be fair," Moriko's voice is a bit weaker than before and softer to her ears, "I think we all have our issues. Human or not."

Not wanting to admit that her sister has a point, Kato opts to stay silent. She knows exactly who Moriko is talking about when she says that everyone – human or not – has issues and that in their situation, they have too many issues to count. Issues that, while not verbally done so, they've silently acknowledged and when given the chance, they do try their best to help each other through it. After all, they're all on the run together. Her feet no longer drag as she walks beside Moriko, though her eyes refuse to look at the fae. Moriko notices nonetheless, sending a comforting smile her way. Her hand brushes against Kato's and hesitantly, Kato grabs it to give it a brief squeeze – a signal that everything will be okay and Moriko wonders how such a small gesture can do so much.

* * *

Reve sighs, rubbing her temples as she sits down at one of the corner tables in the Host Club. If she had known that this particular group of humans were  _this_  energetic, she may have rethought her eagerness to offer her and the girls' services. She can already feel a headache forming. She swears if Kato and Moriko don't arrive soon, she will personally make their life a hell for leaving her alone to suffer.  _And they say humans are the most intelligent species,_ she huffs and leans back in her chair.  _This is ridiculous. They've been arguing about what type of flowers to show for the past thirty minutes and those twins are very quickly grating on my last nerve._ She focuses on her breathing, on keeping her form together. She nearly lost control once today, she doesn't want it to happen again.

She's rudely interrupted by a small tugging on her sleeve. She raises an eyebrow as Hunny looks up at her with pleasing, cute eyes. The large one – Takashi – stands behind him, towering over them both. He would have been more intimidating if she hadn't known Kato. She doesn't find him a tad bit scary, just as she doesn't believe that Hunny's expression is as innocent as he'd make it. Both of their energies, specifically Hunny's, swarms with something darker – possessiveness maybe? Of what, she isn't sure.

"Excuse me, Reve-chan? Is that Kato-chan's bag you have there?"

Her eyes flicker down to the bag at her feet. That cat had left it after their bathroom altercation and she had taken it upon herself to bring it so that it could be returned. The flush that spreads of her cheeks due to that memory causes both Hunny and Takashi to share a slightly confused look. Yet it disappears too quickly to be questioned. She doesn't bother looking at them anymore, instead keeping an eye on the door, looking out for Kato and Moriko.

"And what if it is," she asks carefully. She's tempted to reach into their thoughts, but finds that way boring. She'd much rather see what Hunny has up his sleeve.

He shoots forward, almost inhumanly quick, and she's not fiercely trained like Kato, but she is still quicker. His hand is just inches from her bag, but her own hand grips his wrist tightly. She could have let him get whatever it is he felt the need to grab. She knows Kato keeps nothing but school supplies in the bag – there's nothing to hint at their inhuman origins. But she isn't prepared to let someone, a stranger, go through Kato's things and she doesn't appreciate the fact that someone just thought that would be okay to do.

Hunny seems surprised that she caught his wrist, looking at her with such wide eyes. She has to admit that he is stronger than she expected, she can feel the way he tries to pull out of her grips. A part of her is pleased that despite being the most physically weakest of their group, she can still hold her own against a human. Even if she is shamelessly using a bit of her abilities to reach into Hunny's mind to try to persuade him to stop pulling away – which works, for the most part. His pulls grows weaker before he stops resisting entirely.

"It's rude to go through people's things without asking."

Hunny isn't sure what happened. Reve didn't even seem like she was paying too much attention yet she reacted so quickly, even fast enough to grab his wrist before he could grab Tamaki's bear out of the bag. Her grip is strong, especially for someone of her physique – she's fairly bony and thin with no visible muscle tone and yet her grip is tight and firm. He pulls to try to break free, an apology already on his lips, when something he still can't describe occurs. It's like a humming in the back of his mind. He pulls again. Again. A voice in the back of his mind tells him that he can't break free no matter how hard he tries and suddenly it's as if that's voice become true. He can't break free. He can't even move his arm, it feels like dead weight.

Reve's eyes meet his as there's a dangerous gleam in them. As if she's more dangerous than she appears. The humming in the back of his mind grows louder and stronger. He can hear someone enter the clubroom. Reve breaks their stare down and just as her eyes leave him, the humming disappears and his arm drops to his side as she lets go. He can see Kato and Moriko enter the room, yet he just watches as Reve gets from her seat, taking the bag with her, to greet her friends. His eyes narrow and glancing to Takashi, he can see that he's not the only one to see that something just isn't right here.

Reve isn't the only to notice Kato and Moriko's entrance. Haruhi is quick to get to Moriko, muttering something to her about how  _crazy the club is and to be prepared for the worst._  Kyoya merely watches from a distance, eying them all critically. The twins huff, crossing their arms against their chest as they mutter about how  _it was about time they showed up._  Tamaki is the one to greet them, with arms open wide and a large smile on his face.

"Aha," Tamaki announces with a flourish, "It seems as if our final members have arrived!"

"It's about time," the twins add, "We still have a lot to go over with you."

"Like what," Moriko asks, hesitantly. Beside her, Haruhi face palms, mumbling about how  _she just had to ask._

Tamaki's eyes sparkle as he gets close to them. Kato visibly looks discomforted, squaring her shoulders with a sneer on her face. Moriko nudges her harshly, causing her to settle down. Reve rolls her eyes as Kato looks hurt, as if someone just kicked her kitten. Yet when she hands her bag back, Kato visibly brightens and cradles it close to her chest protectively.

"Why," Tamaki continues, a bit more cautiously after Kato's little display, "Your types of course! Every host has a type, something that draws people in! You have Kyoya, the Cool Type. Hunny is, of course, the Loli-shota with Mori being the Silent Type. The twins suit the Devil type perfectly just as Haruhi is the Natural type. Then there is me, the Prince Charming type."

He takes a deep bow, taking Moriko's hand to kiss it. She eyes him with distaste and shakes her hand a bit when he lets her go. Haruhi hands her a handkerchief from her pocket, which Moriko takes gratefully to wipe her hand. She gives Haruhi a silent thank you and Haruhi smiles brightly and she pauses. A strange fluttering sensation grows in her stomach, rising up to her chest. A flush spreads across her cheeks and she quickly turns her attention back to the club. She shoves the image of Haruhi's smile into the back of her mind.

"I don't get it," Kato speaks up bluntly, her voice visibly cutting Tamaki down. "Is this polygamy? I didn't think that was a big thing in Japan."

Reve sighs at Kato's words, but offers no explanation since frankly, she's not a hundred percent sure either. She supposes it could be polygamy, or this is just some act to get girls to fall in love with them. Maybe it's some sort of harem, with no romantic connections attached. A prostitute house would have been another thought if this isn't a school club. Unless the Principle doesn't look too closely into it and doesn't know what goes on behind the club's closed doors.

Moriko seems just as flustered, judging by the flush on her cheeks. Reve raises an eyebrow – the rest of her body language doesn't line up with her being embarrassed. But why else would she be blushing? The others are definitely flustered, there's no doubt about that at least. Reve can even spot the faintest sign of a blush on Kyoya's face. Mori seems almost as flustered as Tamaki, just less dramatic about the outcome. The twins, though red as their hair, are laughing.

"NO," Tamaki shrieks, "NO NO NO!"

He takes a deep breath before standing up tall, a more professional demeanor coming over him. "Polygamy is perfectly okay for those who consent and participate in it. But I do not want you getting the wrong idea of what we do here. We entertain with conversation and genuine, wholesome entertainment – though the twins can run a bit risque. We care about each person who walks through our doors, but none of our affiliations with our guests are not explicitly sexual and we do not engage in relationships with any of them – that is Host Rules 101."

Kato raises an eyebrow, leaning back on her heels, mildly surprised by his words. Reve has to admit a part of her is rather impressed by how he handled his answer while Moriko is the most openly astonished. But they're not alone in their surprise. The twins let out a long, drawn out whistle.

"Wow Tono -"

"-That's not like you."

"-We're rather impressed."

Tamaki inflates with the praise, looking more and more proud of himself. Kyoya smirks as he pushes up his glasses.

"That's because he has the answered rehearsed by now."

Tamaki deflates and retreats to his corner, muttering how  _mommy just has to ruin the fun._ The twins laugh, openly mocking him. Haruhi sighs and plops down on one of the closest couches. Moriko decides that after that display, she needs to sit down too. She sits at Haruhi's side, a bit too close for comfort. Thankfully, Haruhi doesn't seem to mind the close distance between them and Moriko decides that it's probably best to not focus too much on it. After all the blush on her face only just died down. Kato scoffs and takes a seat too, opting to sit down at one of the standalone chairs with her legs. Her legs sit spread open and the bag lays in the large open space between her feet. If one were to look closely, one could see the top of a familiar teddy bear poking out through the opening of her bag. Reve just frowns and sits delicately on the armrest of the chair where Kato is seated, thinking his answer over and what it could mean for them.

"I think I get it," Moriko announces, loud enough that everyone's attention is drawn to her, "You have types because every person is attracted to something different. But your types aren't too far off from your personalities so they feel natural so your customers feel like they actually  _know_  you…" She frowns. "What I don't understand is why?"

Tamaki recovers fast from his mushroom corner of shame, jumping up with a flourish.

"Why it is our mission to make every girl – and boy if they happen to come in –  _happy."_

 _That's rather optimistic,_ Moriko winces,  _and a bit twisted. I don't think they're going about making everyone happy in the right way. They're bound to break a few hearts._ Reve crinkles her nose in distaste, his answer not quite suiting what she was expecting. Kato openly scoffs, crossing her arms against her chest with a sour look on her face.

"That's impossible. You can't make everyone happy."

Tamaki isn't as quick to respond to her, approaching her cautiously and unsure of his boundaries with the young woman are. But there's some sort of solemn understanding that passes between the three girls – something that each host notices. It's hard not to as the change in their demeanor is almost melancholic and their eyes turn sad. Tamaki takes a deep breath of courage, stepping forward with a bit of more confidence. He hopes that there's still enough distance between them that she won't hit them, but he gets down on his knees to look her in the eyes, trying his best to ignore the unnerving color that stares back at him.

"We can if you give us the chance," he offers softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally we will see a sort of softer side of Tamaki, at least that he's much more than he seems. But Hunny and Takashi are becoming more and more suspicious of the girls. And wait - Kato still has Tamaki's bear? Just how long will it take before Tamaki gets it back? And just what will be the girls' hostess type?


	9. As of now, you are a hostess

**THIRD PERSON**

Kato ends up being deemed the Rebel – especially after nearly kicking the shit out of Tamaki for his comment earlier. Reve is named the Self Confident, a more feminine version of the Cool Type, and Moriko is left with being the Angelic type, which is ironic considering that she was one of the ones laughing when Kato almost kicked Tamaki. She only failed due to the quick thinking of Hunny and Takashi. Nevertheless, they were all ready for the club to begin. At least, they thought they were. Yet as Moriko finds herself at a couch surrounded by a group of males, all of whom are acting as if she can't take care of herself due to being the Angelic type, she regrets ever coming into the Music Room in the first place. She knew that word would spread fast, but she is (slightly) impressed with how quick word got around about female hostesses being in the club. She doubted that she would even have one customer the first day – having close to five at once is almost hard to keep up with. Her head spins with each of them talking at once, each trying to out do the other. She can't even think for herself – nevertheless keep up with Kato's cursing over the mental link or Reve's berating snide remarks.

 _Just be quiet,_ she sends that thought out over the mental link, as strongly as she can, but it gets drown out by the bickering between her 'sisters.' Her head throbs, a painful headache starts to form that only gets stronger by the minute. She needs a break. She needs just a moment – just  _one moment –_ of peace. She abruptly stands, taking some of her customers off guard as they briefly reel back from her, looking at her with startled eyes.

"Let me get some more tea for all of you," she offers a bright smile that makes the boys shine. All of them are quick with their  _take your time, you lovely when you smile, aw how cute,_  comments.

She waits until her back is to them for the smile to drop from her face. The club has hardly begun and she is already tired as she makes her way to the tea cart set up on the other side of the room. She's glad no one can see the way she rubs her temples with a sigh. She needs some fresh air. She needs to feel dirty earth between her toes. She needs the quiet thoughts and peaceful air of nature. She's always wanted to visit Ouran's garden, from what she hears it's something to behold, and she wishes that she could just ditch the club and loose herself with the scent of flowers –  _real_ flowers whose roots she can feel hum beneath her feet, not the ones that are desperate to be free from confined pots and planters, suffocating from a lack of sunlight.

"It's pretty hard the first day."

Moriko jumps at the sudden appearance of Haruhi, yet Haruhi merely smiles as they begin making her own set of tea for her guests. They doesn't pause in their actions as they continue to speak.

"You get used to it after a while, and I'm just not just talking about the guests either."

Haruhi turns and glances over their shoulder toward the others hosts, a soft smile on their face that makes Moriko flush. She watches Haruhi watch the others with a sense of wonderment. There's something in Haruhi's expression that she knows all too well. It's the same sort of look that she shares with her sisters. It's that glance full of love, that sense of  _they're absolutely crazy but they're my crazy,_ that look of  _that's my family all right._

"I know that they can all be a lot to take in," Haruhi's voice is soft, "But they all mean the best."

They give a quiet chuckle and turns to Moriko. Moriko could bask in the warmth and light that comes from the other, it's beyond friendly and welcoming. Butterflies stir in her gut as Haruhi wishes her the best and leaves to tend to their guests. Moriko stares after her for a moment, her face a deep shade of pink, and wonders how often Haruhi visits the tea station.

* * *

Kato regrets a lot in her life, some being sins she cannot atone for, yet at the moment she regrets ever making that deal with Moriko. She is sure to make that, along with the fact that she finds this whole thing to be ridiculous and pointless, very clear over the mental link. Arguing with Reve over it while maintaining what she is doing has become as natural as breathing. Keeping as true to her word as she can to Moriko, she does her best not to snarl too much at the very few guests that she's managed to attract – she had more during the beginning to the club, but they were quick to find someone else to flaunt over. Apparently quite a few of the males are a bit intimidated by her.  _And they have every right to be,_ Kato huffs as she leans back in the seat.

"You look pretty strong for a girl," one of the guys comments, grinning as if it's supposed to be a compliment. Kato can't remember his name – to be fair, she didn't pay attention to any of the names that were given to her. But his physique suggests that he's on one of the sports teams, or at least works out frequently. He's quite larger than her and most of the other males – aside from Takashi, who she notes is watching the interaction carefully as if he suspects that she's going to do something.

 _Human men. Typical._ Kato gazes at him sharply, "I am not 'pretty strong' for a girl. I look 'pretty strong' because I am."

The guy who made the comment stares Kato down. She doesn't budge, staring at him as if she's daring him to continue. Unfortunately (for him), he takes the challenge as he grins madly and leans forward, planting his elbow on the table in front of them. The others eye each other a bit more cautiously. Kato doesn't seem nearly as fazed as she returns the grin – though her smile causes the guy to almost falter and causes an unease among most of her guests. She grabs his hand in a strong hold that takes him off guard. She is vaguely aware of Reve's warning that comes through the mental link, a reminder to be human. She takes it upon herself to remind Reve that acting human doesn't mean she still can't beat him.

The guy at least doesn't seem as confident anymore and she, more than anything else, wants to end this quickly – to just slam his hand down as if it's nothing. But she knows that if she did that, she'd get a good chewing out from Reve. Besides, it doesn't hurt to have a little bit of fun. Her grip tightens briefly, just enough to send him a message –  _I'm stronger than I look and I am holding back._ Judging from the way he swallows nervously, he got the message loud and clear.

"I'll do the count," one of her other guests – a female one – jumps up with a giddy grin. Her loud deceleration gets more attention from the other guests, causing a few of them to gather around to watch in curiosity.

Kato scoffs at the comments that whispers that go through the crowd about how she can't possibly expect to defeat them, that she's kidding herself for even trying. A few of the comments made by some of the girls catch her attention –  _'I hope she teaches him the lesson he deserves,' 'I hate that creep, if she can defeat him do you think she'll teach me how to do it too?'_ Her grin turns a bit more vicious at some of the more explicit comments about what exactly this guy has done to some of the girls.

She was going to go easy on him, but as one of the girls started the countdown and it reaches zero, she has made the decision to bring him down a few pegs. She can feel him pushing against her hand with all of his might, but she doesn't budge. She lets out an exaggerated yawn, stretching out her free hand.

"Is that really all you got," she taunts, "I can't believe your team has won anything."

He pushes harder, growling at her comments as the crowd begins to whoop and holler. She grins viciously, unsurprisingly unimpressed with his strength. She waits a bit longer before she finally slams his hand down –  _hard._ He lets out a yelp and falls to the fall, yanking his hand to his chest in a vain attempt to comfort it. For a moment, everyone is silent.

She's not sure which girl started to cheer first, but it doesn't take long before a majority of the crowd had joined in. She basks in the victory, pride causing her to puff out her chest. Reve lets out a shrill shriek through the mind link.

_What the hell do you think you're doing?!_

* * *

It takes almost an hour before Reve finally breaks off the mental link with the others. She wants to be able to communicate with them, should anything go wrong, yet she cannot take those comments from Kato any longer. Her little 'stunt' doesn't really help her headache either. Her patience, and her control over her physical form, is wearing too thin to deal with the cat. If she argues with the other girl any longer, she is sure that her form will start to fade away at the edges. She wonders how she could have ever thought of that  _angry, mangy, argumentative kitty_ as anything other than  _annoying. But wouldn't you just love for her take her anger out on you,_ a voice whispers in the back of her mind. Her heart picks up its beat and she swears she forgot how to breath,  _pounding you until your physical form fades into her as it clima –_ She shuts that part of herself down before it can spiral out of control again.

She wonders what's wrong with her today, what has changed between them – between her and Kato – that all of a sudden these feelings, these  _all too human feelings,_ are just rising up to a very dangerous level. She closes her eyes briefly and she can see with too much clarity, the first time she saw Kato,  _really_  saw her. Her dad said that God himself had poured gold into Sofia's eyes and as a child, believed him. Over time, she has realized that because he had loved her so dearly, that to him, that statement was nothing but the truth. She understands that much better now. The first time she had saw Kato, she met those eyes and unlike her stepmother's, Kato's eyes shined so brilliantly that she didn't think God had melted gold. No, God had poured the softer parts of fire into her eyes. Soft enough that there is a beauty and warmth to it, but it's strong enough to burn.

But when did that change? When she did she start to think of those eyes staring into her own with an intimate glare? When she did she start to dream of those hands picking her up and bringing her so close she can feel her warmth? She doesn't know. She has a near perfect memory and still can't pinpoint exactly when, and why, this all started. She had hit puberty before she had met Kato, she can't blame all of this on the hormones of growth. Maybe she can blame it on neglecting her personal desires for too long. Maybe this is all because she needs sexual release and it's manifesting itself in strange ways. Maybe her brother is wrong and it is solely sexual attraction.

She takes a deep breath and brings herself back to focus. Her customers –  _clients? Guests? -_ still haven't said too much to her. They are just sitting there with blank, awed looks on their faces. The ones that meet her eyes look away with flushed cheeks and muttered apologies. She wonders why she just had to get the most awkward bunch on her first day, but she supposes it's better than having ones that won't shut up. Her eyes flicker to Kyoya. He's supposed to be the male equivilant of her 'type.' Yet his guests don't seem awkward at all, they're all dripping with the eagerness of young crushes, flickering their eyelashes at him with hope. He smiles at them, but it seems that she's the only one who can see that it doesn't reach his eyes.

For a moment, he does look over at her. Unlike his guests, she doesn't blush or smile. She doesn't shyly wave at him or flutter her eyelashes. She meets his gaze coldly and evenly. She doesn't back down. She reaches out and gently nudges at his mind, wondering what it is that he is truly thinking – she knows that it's not of his guests. His eyes have a way of saying that he knows too much, that he knows more than anyone in this room. She knows that can't be as true as he believes it to be, but something still doesn't settle right. She knows that despite the club's antics being a cover for anything that unseal that may slip through, that if anyone could see them for what they are – what they can be – it would be him. There's an almost mutual understanding that passes between the two of them, as if he understands that he doesn't faze her in the slightest. He nods briefly, something that can pass of as a gesture of greeting, but she knows the truth. It is his way of telling her that, for now, everything between them is okay. That he isn't going to strike, that he doesn't see them as a threat.

But that doesn't change the fact that they're likely on thin ice. One wrong move is all it will take for him to question things too much, for him to push for answers that he doesn't need to know.

She needs to watch herself with him – they all do.


	10. The Teddy Bear

Kato knows that, by all technicality, she stole a bear. She found it a few months ago under the mountain blankets that she had formed in the Host Club. She also knows that, despite whatever Moriko is trying to tell her, finders keepers, losers weepers. She found the bear, it's hers now. It's hers. They can't take that away from her. She doesn't see how it's very fair when they can easily afford a new one. It's not fair, it's not fair, she wants to hiss and claw and do all the sorts of things that she knows will cause them all to go into hiding somewhere else – something she doesn't want to put on her sisters again.

It's all Tamaki's fault. He's the one that just noticed his bear is missing. It's Honey's fault too. He's the one that pointed it out in Kato's bag – it's obvious, he's always known that and has merely been waiting for the perfect moment to strike. It's Reve's fault too. She's the one who is just sitting there as quietly as Kyoya, just watching from a distance. It figures that she's not doing anything to defend me.

"I found it," Kato cries in her defense, curling herself around the teddy bear as she settles deep into the cushions of one of the sofas. The customers have long since been gone, leaving plenty of free space for her. "I found it so it's mine!"

The twins tsk at her behavior as Tamaki is torn between sobbing about his bear and screaming to get it back. Takashi and Honey seem to be on standby, wondering if they're going to be needed to take the bear back by force. Reve is sighing, shaking her head, but knowing that Kato won't listen to her, she doesn't try. Kyoya seems to be getting more and more fed up as this scene continues.

Moriko is very gently trying to explain things to her, but she doesn't want to listen. She doesn't see why her sister is so against her – she knows what it's like to hold onto everything you can because it's all you have. They have more money they used to due to Reve's brother, absolutely, but Reve has made it very clear that under no circumstances are they to buy anything that isn't necessary – its why their living space barely even looks lived in. It also means that despite having food and clothes and a place to sleep, everything Kato is grateful for, she still feels as if she has nothing to really show that she owns something. Having nothing in their living space feels as if it's temporary, and she knows that it is, but it means that everything there will be left behind in a second to go on the run. She just wants one thing – one thing – that she could take with her, something that's hers.

"I don't see why you're being such a childish, spoiled brat," Kyoya pushes up his glasses with a glare, "The bear is not yours and that is that. Now I do ask you to return it should we be forced to take it."

Moriko winces at his harsh tone and looks to Haruhi for help, yet they just shrug and shake their heads, stating that there is nothing that they can do once Kyoya has a say. She's the only one daring to get close to Kato, settling for on the floor in front of the couch that the Katojn has settled in. I have to keep trying, this is not going to end well with Kato's temper.

"Kato," Moriko speaks softly, "Sister. Please."

Their eyes met and Kato's heart aches, feeling her chest tighten as she realizes that even her own sister won't take her side. Her eyes look away. She can't stand looking into Moriko's desperate, pleading eyes. She can't stand the feeling in her chest either. Her face feels warm, hot to the touch. She's never been human enough to truly feel that shameful, weak embarrassment before, yet she wonders if this is what that is. She decides quickly that she doesn't like this feeling and instead of taking it in stride, she stands from the couch with watery eyes, a teddy bear tight in the fist she pulls back.

Takashi and Hunny move forward, prepared to stop any onslaught attack as Kato looks as if she's about to throw it with all of her might. They reel back in confusion when the teddy bear gently hits Tamaki before she runs out of the club room. Takashi is the one whose eyes follow her movements out carefully and unlike Hunny, he doesn't feel any sense of pride or accomplishment. He is glad that, in a way, justice has been served – Tamaki's bear is returned to its rightful owner – yet at what cost?

Despite how fast she leaves, everyone catches a glimpse of the way she cries.

The bear takes Tamaki off guard, and though he's thankful to have it back, he isn't sure how he feels about a girl leaving in tears over it. He knows what she did was wrong, but he doesn't think Kyoya is right either. He feels it, deep in his chest, that there is something more at play here than her simply being a brat. Kato's never acted like this before, in fact she is the last person he'd ever expect to cry or throw what can only be described as a tantrum. Over the past few months, she's never been the most open with her emotions. In fact, she's always avoided them the best she can unless food is involved. Kyoya would have complained, but she does do a decent job at entertaining her guests – even if it's in unorthodox ways such as showing them the proper way to throw a punch. She's always been too tough – no, that doesn't sound right. He takes a deep breath as he realizes that maybe – maybe – her crying in front of them, for as brief as it was, is the strongest thing she's done.

All of that, however, seems to go over the twins' heads as they're the first to speak.

"A bit over dramatic for a bear," Hikaru scoffs, crossing his arms against his chest, "I never expected her to be such a brat."

"And it wasn't even hers in the first place," Kaoru adds, leaning against his twin as he eyes Tamaki's bear.

Haruhi didn't expect Moriko to react, especially as fast as she did. She shoots up from her position on the floor and is on the twins fast, pushing them back with enough force to send them reeling backwards. Takashi and Hunny are quick to catch them before they hit the floor, but their eyes are wide with surprise. Just as no one expects Kato to cry, no one expected Moriko to react so violently either.

"You don't know," Moriko's hands form fists at her sides, her eyes bristling with tears as her shoulders shake with overpowering emotions. Her glare seems to be aimed at Kyoya as much as it is toward the twins. Something tells Haruhi that she reacted to the twins simply because they were closer. "You don't know anything, so don't you dare call my sister a brat!"

Hikaru recovers fast from her shove, glaring at her as he stands up firmly, not afraid to meet her gaze. "She's not even your real sister!"

"She is my sister," Moriko screeches, reeling on her toes to stand taller than the twin. Her voice shakes as much as her body. "My parents practically raised her! We came from nothing, together! What she did was wrong, but now she thinks I betrayed her -"

She takes a deep, trembling breath as she tries to control her emotions as well as her powers. She can feel the ground shake beneath her feet, the roots of the nearby trees threatening to burst forth from her anger. Her heart aches. She knows Kato is in the wrong, from taking something that isn't hers, but that doesn't mean she doesn't understand why she did it. It doesn't mean that trying to get her sister to give back what wasn't hers, wasn't absolutely wrecking. She feels Haruhi's hand on her shoulder and Reve stirring in her mind, trying to calm her emotions, and she isn't sure which actually worked the most, but she stands more firmly with a much calmer mind.

"My family used to be well off, so when my parents found Kato on the streets – we were both about five at the time – and she had no family, they took her in. " Moriko looks at them all evenly, the tears cleared from her eyes, but her voice still wavers from a raw throat. "And then my parents died. Kato and I found ourselves on the streets when were seven and we had nothing. We stole to survive, food and the such, and never had anything of our own. And when you come from nothing and find something that you can finally have for yourself, you don't let it go."

Her story's edited. There's no way to say that her parents were killed by hunters. No way to explain that by age seven, they were doing so much more than simply living on the streets. They were running for their lives until they finally got caught a few years later. They have come from more than nothing, they have come from bloodshed and torture. They have done nothing more than suffer for a majority of their lives. She knows that without Reve gently pulling the emotions in the back of her mind, she would be crying. It's thanks to Haruhi's comfort that she can keep her voice steady and have confidence in her words as she opens up her heart to the hosts.

She knows that Reve will not be too happy later about sharing this much information, but she sees understanding in Reve's eyes. She couldn't just stand by while the others were so happy to put Kato into this nice little label that they thought fit her, but people are so much more complex than that. People come in too many shapes and sizes to fit into a box. She can't just stand by and let them drag her through the mud either.

"I took them in," Reve steps forward, her face expressionless despite the way her eyes shine. "We found each other not too long ago and my family is well off, but thought it was best to send us here. They still send us the money to get the best education there is, but we're all still trying to… unlearn certain habits."

There's a grace to her words and Moriko tries her best to ignore the jab at Kato. Like Moriko, however, Reve tells the edited version – a version that will sell their story as actual humans. Like normal people. Though Moriko's not sure how normal even their edited stories are. Either way, everyone seems moved by their stories, Tamaki being the most open with bawling tears as he clutches his teddy bear tight to his chest. Hunny isn't too far away, holding Usa-chan close. The twins have the decency to look uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed about what they said, though Kyoya doesn't show any remorse. As Moriko looks a bit closer at everyone, her eyebrows furrow in confusion. She whispers to Haruhi, but Haruhi merely shrugs through shoulders in response.

"I think that was… admirable," Kyoya finally speaks up, pushing up his glasses, "Stupid, but admirable."

"Sometimes what may seem stupid, others see as achieving the impossible," Reve meets his eyes evenly, showing nothing but confidence in her words that, in a way, he can't help but be impressed by. He hums slightly, yet offers no reply.

Hunny sniffles slightly, "That's a good way of looking at it, Reve-chan."

Reve's lips twitch slightly, threatening to smile, yet she merely nods respectfully before standing at rest.

"Kato just wanted to have something for herself," Haruhi muses, "She probably took a liking to Tamaki-senpai's bear since she never had one."

"It certainly explains some behavior," Kyoya pushes up his glasses and Moriko wonders if he does it with his middle finger intentionally, "Studies suggest that children tend to have comfort items such as security blankets or a bear and need it to transition better into adulthood. Ripping it away too early can cause damage to the psyche, but never having one in the first place is sure to cause some behavioral problems and lack of mental growth."

Moriko wishes she could punch Kyoya without consequence for suggesting that Kato is as 'mature' as she should be when nothing in this club can be considered 'emotionally mature.' Kato may be a bit behind, but no more so than what's typical, which is more than she can say about some of the hosts. But she stays quiet and for a moment, everyone does.

"I have an extra," Tamaki speaks up quietly and more timidly than usual for him, "This is one is particularly special to me, and I didn't like that it was stolen. But I do have extra stuffed animals in the closet. I save them for gifts for our customers."

Moriko has to admit that she is a bit stunned at Tamaki's mature response to the situation and at what he's proposing. Even Haruhi seems fairly impressed, humming a bit to herself as she mutters that it's not a bad idea.

"You mean the ones you buy with the club's budget," Kyoya sighs, "And they're not gifts if the customers pay for them."

Reve can tell where he's going with this and the idea of buying something for Kato stirs a strange sensation in her chest, something she can't quite place. But she's sure that Kato will be more than grateful. Maybe so grateful that she'll -

"I'll cover the cost of it, Kyoya-chan."

Hunny beats her to it, causing her to blink in mild surprise at the young host who gives a large, kind smile. Her eyes narrow slightly, probing at the front of his mind, wondering just what it is that he's thinking. A mild part of her wonders if he's doing it on purpose, just to foil her plans to get into Kato's good graces. She relaxes when she sees that he has no intentions with Kato other than friendship and that he only offers this because -

" - Besides, Takashi has already taken care of it!"

* * *

She doesn't expect anyone to come after her. She hopes that someone will, like Moriko, but she'd settle for Reve. But she knows that the chances of anyone following her are too unlikely to truly believe.

She runs fast, but keeps Reve's nagging voice deep at the front of her mind and slows down enough to be passable as a humane speed. Still faster than average, but not fast enough to be unbelievable for a human. She sniffles and rubs at her eyes and wonders why she heeds Reve's warning to keep up the appearance fo being human when she doesn't want to be a human in the first place.

But apparently they do.  _They're so quick to forget what we've been through and shove the fact that we're not human behind. How can they move on so quickly? How can they reject that part of us - reject me - so easily?_

She doesn't see what's so great about being humans. Humans are complicated, in their emotions and morals and complex laws and unnecessary 'education.' They're conceited - you only matter if you do this, act this way, make this much money. They're evil. They don't care about anything different than them. They've destroyed her home, her land, her people. They're vile, uncaring.

She's stupid for thinking anything different, even for a moment. She was beginning to think that maybe there was something to humans after all, but it's good to see that they're no different than what she thought.

It's starting to get too hard. Too hard to pretend. Too hard to care. Too hard to act like something she's not. She wants to go back. She wants to live again. She wants to run free.

Just as she wonders if maybe she could just run and never look back, she hits the railing of one of the school's balcony, a reminder that she's at least two, maybe three stories high. She could jump, grab onto the railing beneath her and the one below that and so on to slow her fall until she reached the ground.

She takes a step forward.

A hand on her shoulder stops her. Her nose is stuffy and swollen, but she can still smell the scent of musk, wood and a bit of sweat.

Any other day, she would've reacted violently. She would've yowled and clawed and thrown them over her shoulder and off the edge of the balcony as if they were nothing, just like she's always been to them. But her body is heavy. It feels like there are weights on her shoulder so heavy that if she jumped then she would have fallen straight down before she could react. Her face feels dry and stiff, but certain parts still twitch with emotion she doesn't know how to handle. Her hands fall to her sides and she realizes with a start that she's tired.

She's tired. She just wants to go home.

But it's not her sister or Reve that stares back at her, offering the comfort of home that she craves. Instead it's a man she hardly knows, staring at her not with the pity of a lowlife, but with the kind warmth of a friend.

He hands her a stuffed animal. Ironically, it's a cute stylized black cat with fluffy fur and a fluffier tail, with big bright green eyes. It feels soft in her hands.

"...It's dangerous to give this to me," her voice comes out coarse, her throat sore, "I might not give it back."

He smiles. She's never seen Takashi smile before. It feels more genuine than the other hosts' blaring grins that she had gotten used to.

"You don't have to. It's yours."

He wasn't sure what her reaction would be to his idea - anger, more tears, or something more violent. He came in prepared for the worst, prepared for her to hit him or scream at him, tell him to 'fuck off.'

He doesn't expect two, admittedly strong, arms to grab ahold around him and hug him tightly. He hears a soft muffled cry in his chest. He stiffens under her touch, but awkwardly pats her back in an attempt to comfort her. However, he lets out a deep, baritone chuckle that shakes his chest when he hears her muffled voice.

"If you tell anyone about how stupidly emotional I got about this, I'll hit you."


	11. Revelations

Reve has to admit that she didn't expect their 'story' to have this much of an impact on the hosts - she fails to see how knowing someone's past should affect how you treat them in the present. But after Moriko's sob story, the hosts demeanor around Kato, around all of them in a way, have changed. Sure, Kyoya is still stand-offish and the twins still make rather mean jokes and pranks, but Tamaki has been nicer to all of them, Kato in particular. Takashi and Hunny have also been spending much more time with her, even spending time at her table during hosting hours.

Normally, she would be fairly happy that they're blending in so well and that they have been, in a way, accepted by the host club. It's after hosting hours, but she glances toward Kato's table, her chest tightens as she sees Hunny happily curled against Kato's side holding Usa-chan to his chest and Takashi sitting opposite of her with a ghost of a smile on his face.

Her grip on her tea cup grows stiffer and she regrets that moment weeks ago, letting them go after Kato in her time of need. She should have been the one to comfort Kato, she should have ran out the second that the Katojn did and assure her that she'd always have her back. She closes her eyes and could see what could have been - she'd run out after her and they'd meet on the edge of the balcony, her arms would hold Kato close, they're share a kiss that would make her skin shiver. Kato could pick her up and set her on the railing, their bodies would grow closer. Hot.

She regrets drinking tea and not something cooler that would help the flush that's grown on her cheeks.

"I can only imagine what you may be thinking right now," Kyoya's presence doesn't even make her jump.

He gives her a curious look and looks over to Kato, whose seems to be having a good time with Hunny and Takashi. He wonders what about it had gotten her attention, and more so, what about it could've given her such a virgin's blush. His mind plays with one particular idea, but given to Reve's nature, he finds it unlikely.

She gives him a cold stare, "Nothing that concerns you."

He has the gull to smirk at her, "I should surely hope not, but whatever it is, don't let it affect your hosting."

"I thought someone as 'sophisticated' as you could tell time," Reve doesn't even dignify him with so much as a glance as she sips at her tea, "But it's well after hosting hours. We're doing more than…socializing, with each other for reasons that I don't understand. We see enough of each other as it is."

Kyoya raises an eyebrow in curiosity, taking a seat across from her with ease. He meets her eyes, but somehow it seems as if she's looking right through him. As if she can hear every little thought that goes on his mind, as if there's nothing he could possibly hide from her. He should be the only one at this table that can do that, yet he's sitting across one of the three people who he can't simply figure out.

He has a simple two-step process to figuring out each person who walks through the school's halls. All part of how he figures out how he can use people to his benefit and if they can be useful to him in the business world.

The first part is something he can usually do before he even meets them - figure out what it is that they're hiding from everyone else. Each person has a dirty little secret and it's his job to figure out what it is, to have something he can hold over their head should the need arise, and if it can be used to make them work to his benefit. Whether it's digging into their family, their files, checking school cameras, or having a careful ear for the gossip, he can find out everyone's little secret before they even know who he is.

The first part is something that's usually done quick, but the three newest additions have proved to be… troublesome. With Moriko being so open about their history, he has nothing to hold against them. Everything she's said is true, though there's no formal record of her family adopting Kato. Kato has a record, a more recent one, though that's not too far-fetched. She was a street rat, who likely wasn't in the system - which also means it's impossible for him to do any digging into who she really is or where she came from or even who her family is. Even if he gets any DNA, it means nothing unless he has someone to compare it to as her parental figure. Moriko's family wasn't given a lot of time to create one for her before their passing. Reve's family is likely the one who created her record. Other than that, there's records to support where they could have met, their travels, their history together, everything seems fairly legitimate - except for one thing.

Reve's family is so prestigious, apparently in the top one percent within France. It seems violet eyes run throughout their entire family - making it their trademark. Her mother passed, her father remarried, resulting in her having one half-brother, who has become one of France's most eligible bachelors. But there's no pictures that he can find, even wedding photos, of his most recent wife, just a small black and white photo with her obituary that doesn't tell him much. It makes him wonder if she was, in some way, not seen as an appropriate wife for him to take. Which may give him something to latch onto, something to hold against her should she turn against him in anyway, but he needs to have something more substantial.

She also doesn't fit nicely into his second part. Usually, he sweeps down to someone's level, he looks them in the eye, he lets them know that he knows things that they can't even imagine, he observes them, he figures out what makes them tick, and how he can manipulate them into doing what it is he needs them to do. With Tamaki, it's easy. His big heart bleeds for each sob story he hears and is open to the power of suggestion, and doesn't question it if it's phrased to be something that can help others.

Moriko, like Tamaki, cares so deeply for her family that she can explode into a rage to protect them, but otherwise she's more reserved and seems to care more for the plants in the host club than most of the guests. T. Her main goal seems to be to just pass high school and go through life. Given her interest in plants and her family's history as botanists, it's likely she'll follow that career. She's a potential business partner, should she go that route. If he makes her his friend, or at least if she thinks he's her friend, then it give him more access to medicinal her interest with Haruhi may be problematic in the future, it gives him something to latch on that he can use against her.

Kato was the easiest of all of them - nothing but a person driven by their most current, strongest emotion, acting on it before thinking it over. She's impulsive, rude, and at times, almost like a wild animal. She seems to have no understanding of how to read social situations or how to respond to any strong emotion other than happiness or anger. She seems to have some sort of prejudice toward them, at first he thought it was racial in nature, but after seeing the way she acted toward other foreign students, ones outside of Japan, it seems that there's something more to it. It's very possible that she just doesn't like anyone outside of her immediate family, but her reaction seems too strong to be that simple. If he can figure that part out, then maybe he'd have something to hold against her.

Reve, however, is harder. She's too much like him, and not in a good way. It makes her harder to read, he can't tell what her intentions are. He can't tell what it is that she likes, dislikes, or what her most dominant personality trait really is. She does seem to care deeply for her friends, despite her colder exterior, though she doesn't seem to want to admit it. She doesn't seem to want to be here, but she doesn't make any effort to leave, which means she has some reason to stay. She could've easily paid off Moriko's debt with her family's money, but she chose to. She either wanted to teach Moriko a lesson - which is unlikely since she offered herself and Kato to help pay it off - or she has a reason to want to be in the host club. Considering she doesn't seem like the fangirl type and didn't know any of them (that he knows of) until then, he's still trying to figure out what it is that she apparently needs them for. HIs mind dwindles back to his previous idea, why she could have gotten so red, and for now, that's the best theory he has.

Reve snorts into her tea cup, startling him, "If you think that I got flushed because of some attraction to one of your hosts, I can assure you that you can't be anymore wrong."

Which leaves him to the other possible option she turned red, one that seems unlikely, but could prove to be the hook he needs to keep her in line. He stares at her, narrowing his eyes, and takes the chance to confront it.

"Maybe it's not one of the hosts," his eyes glance toward Kato.

Reve's eyes turn hard, her knuckles grow white and a small crack forms on her cup. For a moment, the light reflects against her eyes as if her eyes glow.

_Bingo._

* * *

Haruhi bites her lip in thought, an adorable thoughtful look on her face. Moriko's face flushes, her chest warm and fuzzy, as her hands tremble around her cup ever so slightly.

"I never really thought about it that way, but I guess it makes sense. Plants are just as much as alive as we are, so why wouldn't they respond to us being to them?"

Moriko glows, her face lighting up with excitement, "Exactly! They even had a study to help prove it where they had two plants, exactly the same type with the same type of soil, same amount of water, same amount of sunlight, both in glass cases. The only difference? They told people to yell at and insult one of the plants and only tell nice things to the other. And what do you know? The one that only got insulted tended to wilt and wither. The one that was told nice things, on the other hand, thrived. It was -"

She stops suddenly, a strange sensation tickling at her mental senses. She can feel the plants crying to make it stop, some already starting to wilt. A tangible aura of fear pierces through the air.

She glances toward Kato, expecting to see her having another outrage or panic attack. Instead, she sees the Katojn happily curling between Takashi and Hunny, animatedly speaking as they eat sweets. Her brows furrow, if it wasn't Kato, then who…?

She hesitantly looks toward Reve, seeing her giving Kyoya a hard, deathly stare, the lights in her eyes shining brightly, twinkling like a firecracker that's just been lit. The aura of fear, mixed with anger, makes her shift in her seat as Reve projects her emotions around her, even the twins seem to be uncomfortable as they settle down in their couch with a depressed look to their eyes.

Reve, you have to stop, Moriko pleads over the mental link, look at what you're doing to everyone. You're draining everyone! STOP!

Slowly, but surely, everyone starts feeling the effects more and more. You can feel the fear present in the room as it drains energy from all around it to feed itself. The most emotional ones are quicker to go while those with the strongest will have more resistance, but it's a only a matter of time before everyone is effected.

Kato curls into herself, holding her newest stuffed animal to her chest, her head resting against Takashi's side, her will to move diminishing. Hunny joins her, curling against her as he holds Usa-chan close though it seems to be more of an act of comfort to Kato than him actually feeling Reve's effects. Takashi has an arm around both of them as much as he can, his will seems stronger, merely looking confused at the sudden change in demeanor. He tilts his head at the slight almost whine that drags out from Kato, sounding like a disgruntled kitten trying to tell him, or someone, something.

Tamaki is in his little corner growing mushrooms, muttering about how his 'daughters' will never truly love him. The twins are almost asleep on their couch. Haruhi is already starting to look tired, but there's a still a small smile on her face. Even Moriko is starting to feel it's effects as she relaxes into the couch with a tired, slightly frustrated sigh.

Kyoya feels it next, his eyes only slightly dropping as he continues to stare at Reve with a hard intensity. He sways a bit in his seat, but impressingly holds his own.

Reve, Moriko pleads, and she can see Kato's ears twitch, stirring a bit at all the activity in the mental link.

Reve, Kato's voice joins, please…

This time, it seems to have an effect. The aura in the room drops and dissipates almost suddenly as Reve regains her composure. She gives one last glare to Kyoya before she calmly stands. The clicks of heels are the only break in the confused silence that overtakes the room as she leaves promptly, not even offering a single look back.

Kato tiredly watches her leave, a twinge in her chest as she stirs from her spot between Takashi and Hunny. After a moment of regaining her energy, she stands and mutters something to Takashi and Hunny that makes them both nod with understanding as they usher her away. Kyoya's eyes follow her intensely as he watches her go after Reve.

"I - I'm sorry," Haruhi shakes their head with confusion, "I think I blanked out for a minute, I can't exactly remember… What were we talking about again?"

Moriko takes a deep breath and relishes in the calming europhia of the plants. She closes her eyes for a second before she smiles,

"Plants feel," she says simple, but with passion and conviction, "They feel things so much more than people think."

* * *

Reve takes a deep breath, feeling the energy around her as she tries her best to reign it back into her. She can feel loose tendrils of herself flock around her, too wound up with emotion to be brought back into a physical form. She closes her eyes tight and grips the railing of the balcony she found herself on tightly. She turns off the mental link, she can't hear Moriko's concerned thoughts nor the empty silence from Kato. She can't handle anyone's thoughts when she can't even handle her own.

Panic still grips at her, clawing at her, telling her that now that Kyoya knows that it's all over, that he will tell Kato, tell everyone, and any chance she had at doing anything with Kato will be ruined beyond repair as everyone else would turn away for having such a fascination with, in their eyes, her almost adoptive sister even though it's not as if her family actually adopted her - they even gave her her own last name, they just took care of her, they just -

She's not aware she's crying until she feels a calloused hand gently wipe it away. Then she can feel a head press against hers. She can feel hot sand beneath her toes and a sun blaring on her skin. She sees the dunes of the desert with the feeling of safety and freedom. The color of a deep red, the sensation of survival. She wants to relish in memories that aren't hers to know, know the individual so well inside and out that she can't tell where she ends and they begin.

She opens her eyes and takes a deep breath through her nose, the loose tendrils that once flared coming back into her form. She becomes more matte, no longer having the faint glow of power and emotion around her. Her chest feels tight with remorse and guilt, feeling more and more awful about herself that she didn't run after Kato before. Especially considering that Kato has done that exact thing for her.

She feels a deja vu, an odd sensation as if this moment has lived on this location before. As if this balcony knows the feeling of relief of someone chasing after them, the sensation of love and care, and the euphoria of hugging someone so close that their bodies mesh with hers. She tightens her hold around Kato.

She can feel the intense heat coming from Kato's body in waves, warmer than a typical human. The muscles behind her clothing and how stiff she feels from it, as if her muscles have all tensed up. The back part of her mind makes her wonder how those muscles would feel beneath her fingertips.

 _She came_ , Reve's aura flares with a happiness that's not felt often. Kato chased after her, even when she didn't do the same - she should have, she was so stupid to go ahead and let Takashi go after her instead,  _so stupid_. But now, there's some sort of hope that there's more to the two of them than meets the eye. As if she has some sort of chance.

Kato furrows her brows behind Reve's back, her body tensing at the contact as Reve's body tingles with emotion that makes the hairs on her neck stand on end. Her mind can't wrap around the fact that Reve's arms are wrapped around her nor why she can't quite bring herself to hug her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a deju vu from the last scene of the last chapter, but that's kind of the point. It's kind of a way to show what could've (more realistically) happened if Reve had ran after Kato instead of Takashi and a way for Reve to feel more guilty that she didn't.
> 
> Also, I realized I never quite gotten into the depth of Reve's powers so this was a fun way to show what she can be capable of, how she can manipulate people's emotions and auras, and how she can sense/feel their auras as well. Something I never quite explained as well as I should have.


	12. Intermission II: Fantasies At Play

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moriko wonders what's taken up most of Reve's thoughts and why it seems to get her so... hot and bothered.

Moriko watches Reve closely, humming thoughtfully over diner. None of them have spoken about what happened at the host club today and she's not sure what any of them would even say if they did. But something happened when Kato went after Reve and she doesn't know what. Just that when they came up, Kato seemed more serious than usual, as if she had just realized something that she can't understand, and Reve seemed oddly peaceful - even though she was still very clearly upset over whatever Kyoya did to set her off in the first place.

Diner is silent. Reve is eating the odd bite or two, but her mind seems to be somewhere else. The glow of her eyes as they glaze over say that that's exactly the case. In a Dreamweaver's case, the idea of a wandering mind is taken much more literally. Who knows where Reve is now - talking to her brother in France? Having some sort of fantasy? Does Reve even have fantasies?

_Oh I have fantasies._

Moriko jumps at the answer, not expecting the other girl to have been too caught up in what she was doing (thinking?) to have heard the thought. Reve merely raises a brow, almost taunting her. With a chuckle, Reve stands and retires to her room with a cup of tea in hand. Moriko watches her leave in wonder, blinking in surprise at the unusual behavior. She can't even remember the last time she's heard Reve chuckled.

Kato enters the kitchen, eyes downcast with furrowed brows, just as Reve leaves and there's a moment when they stand beside each other in the doorway that sometimes passed between them that Moriko can't place. Reve's cheeks flush as Kato offers an awkward smile and just like that, Reve is gone as well as the moment.

"Okay," Moriko demands, "What in the world happened between you two today? Reve is giddy. She's never giddy."

Kato sits down at the table with a sigh, running her fingers through her hair. Moriko narrows her eyes slightly, noting the way that Kato's nails seem even more pronounced than usual, her canines looking sharp enough to cut glass, and her eyes gleam dangerously under the light of the kitchen. Her hair looks wilder, more untamed as if her emotions are trapping her in a half-transformation.

"Sister, you know I would tell you if I knew."

"If you knew," Moriko raises a brow.

Kato shrugs, "Reve was distressed when I went after her, we talked, we hugged and…"

She pauses, brows furrowing again as she tries to find the word. She doesn't even know what word it is that she's looking for. Is there a word to describe what happened? They hugged and something passed between them, an energy, an emotion, she doesn't know how to describe. It vibrated from Reve, as if something clicked in her that made her feel such a strong emotion that she couldn't contain it to herself, it came off of her in waves. It made Kato's stomach turn, something felt off to her in that moment, like there is something more going on then she knew.

"...and," Moriko pressed, encouraging her to talk.

"And nothing," Kato frowns, "I don't know why Reve is giddy about it."

At least that part was the truth.

* * *

Reve's eyes gloss over and in the sanctuary of her bedroom, she lets herself shed the human form as a violet mist fills the air. She almost curses Moriko for disturbing her thoughts previously, but wastes no time in losing herself again.

She can feel warmth in her core as she lets her mind drift to the events of the day.

Kato's hand is rough, rugged, and calloused on her shoulder, but it tells of a strength that could lift her up as if she weighs nothing at all. She turns and their faces are so close that she can feel Kato's breath against her cheek. The hand moves from her shoulder, slowly tracing its way up. She can feel sharp nails lightly dig into the skin of her face and their lips meet.

It would have been so easy for that moment to have become their first kiss, the first of what she hoped would be many.


	13. Natural

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moriko and Haruhi's 'friendship' progresses as one - or maybe both - feel the beginnings of something more.

 

**Moriko’s Point of View**

I’m trying my best to move forward with the club and put our past behind us. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster these past few weeks, it seems like everything keeps happening at once and we can’t get a single break without someone having some sort of emotional breakdown - or a temper fueled rage, in Kato’s case. Though I never pegged Reve to be the cause of some of our little incidents - it’s not like her to be so… emotionally charged. 

Maybe it’s best if I don’t put too much thought into it. I shake my head and keep my hands steady as I pour another fresh cup of tea for my guests, doing my best to make sure that the kimino that Tamaki demanded we all wear doesn’t fall forward too much. The last thing I need is more reason for men to look at my breasts. Honestly, as if that’s all to a woman. What about her brain? Her doe-eyed cuteness? My eyes flicker to Haruhi, a light flush dusting my cheeks. 

I have got to stop doing that, there’s no use in trying to get my hopes up. Haruhi meets my eyes and gives me an easy smile and  _ Kami she makes it so hard.  _ I have to remind myself to get a grip, especially when Reve looks at me as if she knows exactly what I’m thinking. Because of course, she does. 

_ Stay out of my head, Reve,  _ I mildly scold but she merely sips her tea.

_ Not my fault that you project your thoughts over our mental link.  _

I hear a scuffing noise that sounds more like a cat chuffing, unusual, but familiar. I don’t even have to look to see that it’s Kato laughing - though I hope it’s not at me. 

_ You and Reve both, sister,  _ Kato’s voice chimes with amusement,  _ but I rather like hearing your thoughts. It’s pretty funny.  _

_ Funny,  _ my brows furrow. 

_ I’ve heard about people going through phases in their youth, but honestly, having an attraction toward a human is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.  _

Just when I thought she was making progress about her racism (speciesism?). I try my best to keep my hurt to myself, I don’t want either of them to know the way that Kato’s comment cuts through me like a knife. I understand that she’ll never understand, but the fact that she thinks this is just a phase is what hurts the most. She should know me by now - phases aren’t exactly something I’m known for. I can count the amount of people I’ve ever been attracted to, physically or mentally, in my life on one hand. I don’t exactly have crushes all willy-nilly. Human or not, it doesn’t make a difference to me. 

I can still hear her chuffing and I swallow down my emotions about the subject for now. I can feel the way the plants wilt toward me, knowing my pain and I’m not sure if they’re trying to comfort me or if they’re wailing because my pain is causing them their own pain. I hope it’s the former.

“Is that her laughing,” Hikaru - I think it’s Hikaru - raises an eyebrow as he jabs a thumb over toward Kato, “She sounds like a dying cat.”

They’re not wrong. Chuffing doesn’t exactly sound too good unless you know what it means, and that goes for any cat really. Kato included.

“Still better sounding than you,” Kato chimes, barely even looking over her shoulder toward the twin. 

Now I know it’s definitely Hikaru. Kaoru doesn’t get so easily affected by people, but HIkaru’s face turns red as he tenses. He takes a step forward and I wonder what exactly it is that he thinks he’s going to do to. And how Kato is going to react.

“At least we know how to act normal, you’ve been at this club for a while now and you still act like a freak.”

Kaoru nudges his twin sharply for the comment, but Hikaru is focused primarily on Kato, who stands and glares threateningly. I can practically see her hackles rise as her two feet are firmly planted on the ground. She’s a spring, tensed and wound up, just ready to pounce. There’s a fire in her eyes and a smirk on her lips and I wonder how long she’s been waiting for another fight to break out. 

Takashi places a hand on her shoulder and it genuinely surprises me that she doesn’t just take that chance to throw him over her shoulder. He looks at her, as if to say, to stand down. My lips thin as Kato actually listens. She huffs and sits back down at the couch, arms crossed tightly against her chest as she grumbles under breath in her native tongue.

“That’s not very nice, Hikaru-kun,” Hunny states simply, holding Usa-chan close to him, “Kato-chan may be different, but she’s not a freak.”

Kato watches over her shoulder with a brow raised, interest shining in her eyes. I watch the exchange between her and the other two hosts with just as much interest. There’s something about it that just sits differently with me. Kato doesn’t really listen to anyone, for one. She barely even listens to me and I’m her  _ sister.  _ But without a word, she sat down when Takashi ‘asked’, and she seems almost glad that they’re standing up her. 

Good. She deserves someone to stand up for her that’s not family for once. I hope she actually realizes just how much of a good thing this is though.

“Hunny-senpai is right,” Haruhi piques up with a frown, “Kato is weird, but that’s not right to just call her a freak. Besides, I think everyone here is weird anyway.”   


She’s not entirely wrong either, I glance toward Tamaki who is cuddled behind Kyoya, chewing on his nails, just waiting for Kato to blow up again. Kyoya doesn’t even acknowledge him, but he glances toward Reve with a small smirk.

“Haruhi is right, everyone here is weird just as everyone here has secrets.”

I wonder why he’s looking at Reve that way when he says that, but Reve doesn’t seem overly concerned by it.  _ What is that about, Reve? _

_ Nothing, don’t worry about it. Just a human who thinks he’s smarter than me, nothing new. _

I don’t think she’s lying, but I can tell that she’s not telling me the whole truth either.  _ I’m here when you’re ready to talk about it.  _

I pretend that I don’t see the corners of her lips twitch slightly, as if she’s trying not to smile. 

Hikaru is still having a hissy fit, however, and Kato just sticks her tongue at him while Takashi and Hunny stand protectively in front her. It’s nice to see that they’re getting along that well and I hope that Kato will realize that it’s not a bad thing to have friends - even human ones. Who knows, maybe if they can change her mind about humans being such awful creatures then she’ll actually accept me and Haruhi?

I snort.  _ As if there’s anything to accept.  _ I’m getting too worried about this, I want Kato to be nicer to people, but why am I so concerned about her liking Haruhi specifically? I mean, we’re friends, but it’s not as if we’re ever going to be more than that.

Kato quirks an eyebrow as she looks over in my direction,  _ what was that, ane?  _

_ Nothing. _

* * *

By the time the club’s ending is here, Reve stands solemnly and simply states that she has somewhere else she needs to be. It doesn’t go unnoticed, at least by me and Haruhi, that Kyoya seems to leave pretty close after her.

_ Uh, Reve? If you had something to do with Kyoya, you could have just told us. _

There’s a loud screeching in response that makes me tense. Kato hears it too, but the way that she dives underneath the blankets to try to cover her ears is, remarkably, somewhat normal for her. 

_ REVE? _

_ Sorry, _ Reve’s voice finally rings through, a slight echo and far away quality to it.  _ I don’t have to do anything with that stupid human - _

_ Ha, humans  _ _ are  _ _ stupid -  _

Reve continues as if she doesn’t hear Kato’s comment,  _ Not really anyway. We’re working on a business deal and I do not want the club to intervene.  _

Something twists in my gut and deciding that when the time is right that she’ll tell us the truth, I let it go. But this is the second lie, or at least half-truth, that she’s told me today alone. Something is going on - likely something with Kyoya too. But what it is, is anyone’s guess.

It takes me a good moment to realize that Haruhi is trying to talk to me. It’s not until she actually nudges me lightly do I jump and flush, sheepish that I wasn’t paying attention.

“Sorry, were you trying to say something?”

Haruhi’s lips twitch in amusement, “I noticed you’re really good with plants and was wondering if you could help me with my garden at home. Money’s been a bit tight lately, so I thought I could help my dad out by having our own garden, but I’m not an expert in plants so I don’t know where to start.”

It takes a moment for the request to process and my lips move with my thoughts before only one question comes out, “Are you asking me to visit your house?”

They shrug, “More of an apartment than a house and it’s only if you’re comfortable with it. Honestly though, I’d rather have you over than any of these other idiots. No offense to your sisters.”

I shake my head, waving it off. I can’t really take offense, it’s not as if she knows that we’re not human and most of this, well to Kato mostly, is a lot of culture shock to take in. I glance toward my sister to see her going after the twins again. I sigh, knowing that there’s only so much any of us can do to keep her at bay. Especially with the twins that didn’t get the message to back off when they had the chance.

Though it is funny to see both Takashi and Hunny struggle to keep up with her as she chases the twins around the room. Her hair and eyes are wild, but still tamed compared to what it could be. Her claws aren’t even all the way out. She must be holding back, otherwise she would have easily caught them by now. 

_ Heh, maybe she is warming up more than she wants to believe.  _ I shake my head and turn my attention back to Haruhi, who is still waiting patiently for an answer. They don’t even seem to notice the chaos around the room, or maybe they do and they’re just used to it by now. At least I don’t have to think over my answer.

“I would love to help,” I grin, “Plants require a delicate touch, you know.”

* * *

Haruhi’s plan is simple - we go home after school so we can both freshen up before I head to her place. A plan I appreciate due to the butterflies fluttering in my stomach and the nerves that shake my hands as I finish getting ready.

My sisters aren’t as keen about me going to Haruhi’s apartment, Kato specifically spends a good half hour before I leave yowling about me leaving her. She doesn’t even bother to try to remain human, wandering about, hunched over in her large form like a caged animal.

“Stop the dramatics, I’m just going to a friend’s house.”

Kato’s voice yowls over the mental link,  _ “A human’s house, sister, and without us. You’re coercing with the enemy.” _

“It’s Haruhi,” I roll my eyes, “And you know you don’t really mean that. You know that Haruhi isn’t our enemy -”   


_ Maybe not her specifically, but humans are. _

“And you honestly still believe that? You seemed to be pretty friendly with Takashi and Hunny today.”

Kato doesn’t give a verbal answer to that so much as she just growls and rumbles softly as she settles down on the living room floor. I snort, of course she doesn't have a good answer to that. She’s just proving my point. 

“Reve, you have anything to say on this,” I turn to my other sister, who calmly sips at her tea. For a moment, I’m glad that at least she’s back to normal, but I see her hands shake the cup.  _ So much for that. _

She turns to me and her eyes seem a bit more… lackluster. 

“I think it’s a horrible idea, Kato is right, humans bring nothing but trouble… But if you want to go, I won’t stop you.”

_ What did Kyoya do to you, sister?  _ She doesn’t answer and I don’t expect her to, but with Kato yowling about how Reve taking her side which means that, and I, quote, ‘am out voted,’ I walk out the door and ignore the wailing that follows.

* * *

I flush the moment that the door to Haruhi’s apartment opens. I didn’t expect them to get dressed up for just me and it’s the first time I’ve seen them in such casual, nice clothes. That and they’re smile? They’re... _ cute. _

They grins at me and motions for me to come in, “My dad is at work, but he’ll be home soon. He’ll probably invite you to diner.”

“Just him,” I raise an eyebrow and for a moment, I can see the faint traces of a blush on their cheeks as they wave my comment off.

“Don’t do that, I get enough of it from the twins and Tamaki.”

_ Yeah but I don’t ever see you blush from them.  _ The butterflies start to feel more like a tornado, rustling deep in my gut. I take a deep breath, “So where do you have your windows? I didn’t see any patio you could do it on, but the best place for a garden would be the spot that gets the most sun. Especially if you’re planning on doing herbs or fruit.”

“The kitchen has a nice spot and I think I have everything we need to get started too.”

“And here I didn’t think you knew anything,” I nudge them lightly, but they wave me off with a scoff.

“I’m not stupid, Moriko-chan. I know the basics as to what plants need and how to take care of them, but I don’t know the specifics that are needed to make sure that the garden doesn’t die immediately. I don’t know what plants are good to plant together or what plants need to be completely separate.”

_ Moriko-chan.  _ I grin and follow them as they lead me into their kitchen. Just as Haruhi said, they seem to have a lot of the basics ready - pots, packets of seeds, a few small already starting plants in little pots that will need to be moved into a bigger space, a bag of mulch and soil, gloves, the cutest little shovel, and a watering can. We won’t really need the small hand shovel, though it is cute - we can just use our hands unless we’re planting something particularly grown.

I run my fingers over the small leaves of the plants in the tiny pots.  _ Babies.  _ It tickles my fingertips, feeling electric with new, happy energy as they call out to me. I always loved playing with babies - or rather, taking care of them. Call it the mother in me. 

_ Basil. Lavender. Lemon balm. Oregano. Parsley. Peppermint. Eucalyptus. Chamomile. Ginger.  _ Haruhi seems to know what they’re doing, as far as getting the basics. They’re already putting on their gloves and working on opening the bags of soil and mulch.

“I thought it would be good to get some that have multiple uses, especially for tea,” Haruhi notes.

“And I thought you said you didn’t know what you were doing,” I comment as I take a spot beside them.

I don’t bother with the gloves, despite the raised brow Haruhi gives me for doing so. I love the way the soil feels, its energy runs through my veins. If I am the mother, then the soil is my womb, waiting for its children. I run my hands through the soil, spreading it out evenly as Haruhi pours it from the bag with a surprising ease.

I do my best to cover the small sprouts that pop up here and there within the soil, born from my skin, eager to grow their roots in the earth, and toss a few out when Haruhi isn’t looking so they won’t cause any disruption to their garden.

“You seemed pretty stressed out lately,” Haruhi doesn’t glance toward me as they speak, “I thought this would be a good chance for you to have fun since you seem to enjoy plants so much.”

“And frankly,” Haruhi gives a small grin as they set down the bag of mulch, “I thought it would good for us to spend some time together without Tamaki-senpai and the others.”

“Including my sisters,” I add dryly, causing Haruhi to shrug in agreement. 

I have to admit, the fact that they obviously know what they’re doing, but invited me to help because they wanted to some time together? Because they really do think of me as a friend? Because they wanted me to relax and have some time without everyone else? 

I spend the entire time with Haruhi in mostly peaceful silence with my chest flushed with warmth, trying not to linger everytime my hands brushed against theirs.

* * *

**OMAKE**

* * *

 

It’s late when Moriko finally leaves, and Haruhi watches her leave with a strange feeling in their gut, but they wonder how you can miss someone when you can still see them walking off in the distance. 

When they close the door, they let out a long breath. The evening had been, admitly, fun. A lot more fun than they were expecting. While most of their gardening was done in silence, it was peaceful. Natural. Simply because they enjoyed each other’s presence. Haruhi admits that it was strange, to stand there, and see that look on Moriko’s face, as if she were a new mother with her children, her eyes lit up with excitement and love. But it was strange in a good way. Not the tiring, hard strange way that the club is. Not the type of strange that leaves them exhausted and overworked. Not the strange that needs a couple of  _ Aleve _ to take care of. No, it’s a more  _ welcomed _ strange, it’s  _ refreshing. Homey. _

“I have to admit -”

Haruhi jumps at the sound of their father’s voice. Ranka stands there in the doorway of the kitchen with a thoughtful expression on his face - the type of thoughtful that Haruhi doesn’t see quite often on him. As if he knows something that Haruhi doesn’t. His eyes are lit up mischievously and they wonder just what it is that he’s thinking.

“- I rather like that Moriko. She’s polite, kind, and rather cute, don’t you think?”

Haruhi flushes and like that, it’s as if their father got all the answer he needed as he grins and walks off, waving a goodnight to her as he retreats to his room.

Haruhi takes a deep breath and heads toward the kitchen with plans of seeing the final product of their day’s work at least one more time before bed. They still can’t believe they got it done so easily. They suppose Moriko really does have a green thumb - a gift with nature.  _ It suits her,  _ Haruhi muses, Moriko’s bright, almost unnaturally green, eyes flashing in their mind. 

Moonlight shines through the window and Haruhi welcomes it. It highlights their potted plants rather beautifully. Following the gaze of the moon, Haruhi’s eyes fall to something green on the floor. They wince and hope that the garden hasn’t lost a plant already. The list of already grown plants that they had bought go through their mind as they observe the plant, trying to pin just where it should go, figuring the best place for it would be the pot it came from.

They hold the green stem gently in their palm and hold it up to the light to look at it more closely and furrow their brows at the way its stem just stops before the roots, but it’s not broken or cut. As if the plant grew top first and hadn’t had time to get to its roots. The closer she looks, the more the plant just doesn’t seem right to them - the colors a bit too bright, too healthy, as if it’s  _ perfect. _

_...And just what type of plant is this? _


	14. Shedding Part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After their cleaning day is put on hold from a broken vacuum, a trip to the mall leads to a bonding experience none of them are prepared for.

Moriko sighs as she continues to vacuum the house; the weekend brings mild chores, but some much wanted peace to their mix matched household. It's been awhile since they've had such a relaxing time off. She can't even remember the last time Kato spent a weekend without looking over her shoulder, paranoid of everything she hears, convinced that someone is going to bust in at a moment's notice to kill them. To be fair, it's a paranoia that to some level, they all share.

You don't spend as much time in the Facility as they did, on the run for as long as they were, without developing some paranoia to survive. She wonders what it says about them that they can actually sit down and enjoy their time again.

She watches the small clear tub on the front of the vacuum quickly fill with dark strands of fur. It won't be long until she's going to have to empty it for the umptenth time. Her nose twitches as she tries her best to avoid sneezing from all the stray strands that she ends up breathing in. She wonders just how much and how long they've all been breathing in the fur and just how much damage that is doing to them.

She shakes that thought out of her head and tries her best instead to think about happier things. Like last night with Haruhi. Her heart blooms with the mere memory of it, her cheeks flushing slightly. She can't remember the last time someone's actually given her this many butterflies.

"I'd tell you that continuing that train of thought is as pointless as dating a human," Reve comments casually, her eyes still on the newspaper in her hands, "And that you'd be endangering us all by pursuing it, but at this point, I don't really think you'd listen to me."

Reve politely lifts her feet onto the coffee table as she reads the paper to get them out of Moriko's way - who mocks Reve's words under her breath. Her phone vibrates on the table, but she ignores it, not quite caring enough to look. Her mind drifts to the memory of Kyoya. His eyes looking at her as if he has all the power over her, as if he finally got something of interest. She scoffs. Power hungry bastard. He wants to see real power, I'll show him. But for now, she owes him a favor. One small favor. The price to pay for him knowing her secret - granted, she'd rather him know about her crush than the truth of her existence. That doesn't mean that she can't make that bastard wait for a reply.

Honestly it's times like this that she can completely understand why Kato is rather fed up with humans. She'd much rather just wipe Kyoya's mind and be rid of this situation completely, but it'd be too easy for her to erase too much which could bring up problems if she, for example, erases the past week or so in his mind when the other hosts remember it perfectly. She'd never hear the end of it from Moriko if she were to mess it up and put them all in jeopardy either.

Besides, Kyoya is relentless. It's the one of the things she noticed about him. He always knows everything about everyone and the fact that he doesn't know much about them is likely driving him to desperate measures. She doesn't quite want to know what he's capable of if he's desperate enough. So she will let him this - her crush, her secret - and if he believes that all there is to her, then he'll think that that he knows all there is to know. He won't go digging for more. He needs to take a step back anyhow.

"Kato," Moriko turns the vacuum nozzle toward her sister, "I'll get swordfish for you if you let me do this."

Kato's monstrous beast of a form looks up with sleepy eyes as she stretches out with a tired yawn, her muzzle smacking absently. The idea of getting  _el pez espada_  is appealing. She can't remember how long it's been since she's had that. Reve is always so hesitant to spurge too much, especially with how much food (especially fish) that Kato eats. She buys enough for them to get buy, though it took some convincing to get her to believe that it didn't matter what form Kato is in, the amount of food that she'll eat is the same.

She looks toward the nozzle that Moriko motions toward her and sighs before laying back down, hissing slightly as she feels the nozzle run its way through her fur.

"Your shedding is ridiculous in this form," Moriko grumbles, "Why couldn't you be a giant hairless cat?"

" _At least it's better than a giant hairy mutt,_ " Kato weakly argues, grumbling over the mental link.

"At least a mutt would actually like this," Moriko snaps back lightly, "Now turn so I can get your other side."

Moriko ignores the hissing and snarling that comes from Kato as she turns, offering her other side for the same de-shedding treatment. Reve watches from the corner of her eyes, her lips twitching into a slight grin of amusement from the scene. Kato's large form spread out like a rug, lazily grumbling under her breath, causes butterflies in her chest. Cute. Her cheeks flush slightly as she turns her attention back to her newspaper.

Moriko curses when the vacuum finally gives out with a noise that would send terror to a suburban mom with messy kids.

"Damn it! Vacuum's out. This is the third one this month."

She sends an accusing glare toward Kato, who doesn't seem nearly as concerned.

" _So? Good news if you ask me,_ " Kato curls up on the floor, making herself comfortable again as she plans on going back to sleep.

"It's literally the worst news with your shedding," Moriko huffs, "We have to go to the mall and get a new one again."

"Maybe we should buy a cat brush so she doesn't keep breaking the vacuum," Reve's voice is flat and quiet, her eyes briefly glancing toward Kato, who looks at her with wide eyes.

" _The brush is almost as bad as the vacuum._ "

Kato's voice whines to deaf ears as Moriko agrees that a brush would be better. Once Moriko agrees to something, as her sister, it's Kato's duty to go along with it. It doesn't help when she's out voted.

* * *

The mall's crowded and smells like a mix of body sweat and fake perfume. It makes Kato's nose itch for every second that she's there as she trugs along behind her sisters with a begrudging acceptance. The many heads that look their way - whether it's from Reve's intimidating height, Kato's exotic and muscular form, or Moriko's loud and excited chittering at every plant she sees - quickly turn away at Kato's glare.

"If you're getting what you want, and Reve is getting what she wants, can I get what I want?"

Reve sighs, "This isn't a shopping spree, Kato. I have to get books on meditation to help my control. Moriko has to get a vacuum because you broke ours and if you feel left out, consider the brush your gift of the day."

Kato lifts a brow, believing Reve to have the most control and mental strength out of the group, she wonders why Reve even feels like she needs to gain more control in the first place.

Moriko lightly nudges Reve, "Lighten up, Reve. If we have the money and it seems we're going to be here for a while, we may as well enjoy ourselves. For now anyway. Why don't we all get our essentials and we each get one thing that we want? Otherwise, why would you give us each our own card?"

"For emergencies," Reve stretches out the word with a frustrated groan, but at the sight of Kato's large, pleading eyes looking at her, she concedes. "...Fine. On top of essentials, and I do mean essentials, we can get one fun item."

Kato's lips stretch into a Cheshire grin as her mind begins to wonder to things she could get. Most places are already out of the question with no need or desire for most 'human' things, but the food cart is starting to sound more promising.

Moriko's heart warms at the sight of Kato's excitement as she begins to think of what type of plant she wants to bring back home. Her eyes drift away in thought before something familiar catches her eye. She squints and looks closely at the person of interest, their yellow sundress causing her cheeks to warm.

Reve wonders just how much this decision is going to bite her in the ass later, but before she can dwell on it too much, Moriko gives out a shout.

"Haruhi?!"

Their head turns at the sound of their name as the rest of the group follows Moriko's gaze toward the host. Kato huffs, complaining about not smelling them sooner from all the over-priced and chemical-infused perfume in the air.

Moriko's expression becomes a bit strained, her muscles constricting as she panics with each step that Haruhi takes toward them. She spoke without thinking this through, what is she expecting to happen, how come she never knew how cute Haruhi looked in a dress, and why can't she focus on anything other than how adorable Haruhi's smile is.

"Moriko-chan," Haruhi's smile is bright and infectious with Moriko not being able to do anything but return it, "I didn't expect to see you here, with this being a 'commoner's mall.'"

They roll their eyes and use their fingers to form air quotes around 'commoner's mall.'

"It's just a mall," Moriko replies dumbly.

Haruhi scoffs, "Try telling them that. They keep losing their shit over each and every sale they see and the twins and Tamaki-senpai have already been kicked out of a few stores."

They jab their thumb over their shoulder and sure enough, the rest of the host club isn't too far behind her, but with all the distractions around, it's clear that Haruhi's disappearance is mostly unnoticed. Tamaki and the twins are arguing, Kato can hear it pretty clearly (something about Haruhi being in such a short dress), and don't seem to notice that the subject of their argument is gone.

Kato locks eyes with Honey and Takashi, both who give brief nods in greeting that she finds herself returning with crossed arms and tight lips. Kyoya's look toward Reve is noticed, but Reve doesn't give him the gratitude of returning any greeting, looking away as if she never noticed him in the first place.

"Why don't you just join me then?"

The words are out of Moriko's mouth before she can register what she's asking, her heart pounding in her chest as she prepares herself for a no. But instead, Haruhi just grins.

"If your sisters are okay with it, then I'd rather be with you."

Moriko glances toward her sisters, but Reve just waves her hand, "Just go, but you better hurry before the others notice that Haruhi is gone."

 _"Thank_  you," Moriko gives a quick bow toward Reve and an apologetic one toward Kato before she and Haruhi whisk away from the hosts.

The moment that they're gone from sight, Kato sees Tamaki's head pop up with interest, as if he sensed that something is amiss. Some sense, he's a bit late to the party.

"HARUHI!? WHERE ARE YOU!?"

"She disappeared with Moriko," Kato's voice is harsh, causing Tamaki to shrink back as he notices her presence. She smirks slightly, "Apparently, she doesn't really want to be around you."

She admits that she takes a small bit of pleasure from the way Tamaki just wallows in misery at her words, mumbling on and on about how 'it's all lies' and his 'precious little daughter loves him.'

"I thought he'd be more concerned about Haruhi's gender being revealed," Kyoya pushes up his glasses with a smirk, knowing the way it would stir Tamaki (and the twins) up.

Kato snorts as Reve crosses her arms against her chest with an unimpressed glance, "We've known about Haruhi for a while, but given that we didn't know their gender identity, we didn't say anything."

"Fair enough," Kyoya concedes, "After all, Haruhi, themselves, stated that they don't care if people see them as a girl or a boy. Our dear president understands this, but is in a bit of denial."

Reve and Kato glance toward the way Tamaki still wails about his 'pretty daughter being discovered by a bunch of a ruffians'. Kato bristles at the words, taking a step forward.

" _Ruffian_ ," Kato growls, "If you want to see just how  _ruff I can_  be, I can gladly show you."

Takashi is the one to step forward, more out of a curtsey than anything. He can tell by the dimmed fire in her eyes and the looseness of her stance that her words lack any real venom. She's not a real threat. If she really wanted to hurt them, she would have done so by now - he has no doubts about that. Honey may not accept it yet, but he knows that they wouldn't stand a chance against her. Something about that both intrigued and frightens him - the former more so than the later.

"Stop playing, Kato," Reve waves off the other girl's 'threat', "Why don't you run off and actually do what we're supposed to be doing - shopping."

"Mori-senpai, Honey-senpai why don't you keep her company?"

Kyoto's eyes gleam in a way that makes Reve want to destroy those stupid glasses of his. He makes a notable look into her eyes, challenging her, pressuring her. Let's see how this plays out.

Reve can read that thought above all others, it projects itself toward her threateningly, as if he really thinks he's one upped her, that she'll make a scene because he's sending off those two humans with her crush. It takes two to tango and I'm a pretty good dancer.

Her lips thin but she gives no big noticeable sign of the constricting in her chest as Kato actually accepts Takashi's and Honey's presence beside her as they walk off. Reve's jaw tenses and locks at the way Kato brushes against Takashi's side and she's reminded at who it really was that went after Kato on that balcony. Her eyes flash dangerously as her body tenses, a way to keep her form together.

Kyoya watches her closely and notes the tightness of her jaw and stance with a smirk.

"Tamaki, you and the twins can go look for Haruhi, make sure that she's not getting into too much trouble."

Tamaki nods frantically and gives a salute, "We will find her mommy."

He dashes off with the twins and Reve finds herself alone with Kyoya. He has that same look in his eye, that challenging stance. They both know that now that they're alone, they can speak more freely, something that with them can be dangerous.

"You ignored my texts and my calls," Kyoya presses.

Reve shrugs and starts to walk away, barely throwing a look over her shoulder, "If you want to spend all day talking about this, we can at least do it while I'm shopping. Come along, mommy."

It's petty but it works. She doesn't have to look to feel his presence following her a reserved frustration. If he wants to send off Takashi and Honey with Kato to piss her off, then she's going to make him follow her around the mall while she shops. It's only fair and it still doesn't mean that she has to listen to him.

* * *

"So Kato-Chan, what store do you want to visit?"

The food court is on her tongue but she spots a store that grabs her attention with small kittens in its window.

" _That one_ ," Kato breathes, her heart reaching out to the small kittens as their cries reach her ears - let me out, give me attention. She understands them the way a mother cat would understand her kittens. She knows what each meow means from its pitch, its tone.

Honey follows her wide eyed gaze toward the pet shop. Her eyes are fixated on the kittens in the window and she doesn't even seem to notice the puppies on the opposite side of the window that most people are stopping to coo at through the glass.

Takashi feels his lips threaten to smile as his eyes are drawn to the window as well. He looks toward both the puppies and the kittens and takes a step forward. Both he and Kato barely notice each other's presence as they both head straight toward the pet shop.

Takashi flushes when they reach the door at the same moment, not even noticing that she was heading the same direction. He holds the door open for her and she mutters her thanks as she dashes through. He watches her as she's immediately drawn to the kittens.

Unlike the puppies who wander obientently behind a small fence near the window, Kato steps through a second door to get to the small glass room that's made up for the kittens.

"I expected her to go the puppies like everyone else," Honey comments.

Takashi disagrees. With how much Kato herself seems like a cat, it makes sense that she'd go straight to the kittens without a second thought.

He can't help but watch her, the thought of playing with the puppies becoming more distant in his mind. She's immediately swarmed by the kittens that climb up her like a pole, but she doesn't seem bothered by the sharp nails that dig into her. The ones that move to the wrong spots, she grabs by the nape of their neck and moves, correcting them. Her lips move as if she's saying something but Takashi can't hear her over the loud chattering of the kittens.

 _They're excited,_  Takashi realizes,  _they like her_. It seems to be mutual. She has the largest, most genuine smile on her face. A halo of light seems to surround her as she laughs, the kittens climbing on her and batting her hair. Takashi's eyes go wide and a light bulb goes off in his mind as he realizes just how cute the entire scene is and how much it softens Kato's rough edges.

By the time Kato steps out, Takashi has a small flush on his face. The shine to her lips with the small pant that comes from them, and her relaxed posture just makes him flush more.

"How do I get them," Kato asks with a firm determination, "I want them."

"I don't think the store will let you take all of them," Honey offers, "I think they have a limit to only buying two pets per customer a day. The only exception being the fish."

Kato frowns, her relaxed posture turning more tense, "Fine, how do I get two of them?"

Her heart longs to bring them all home with her. She wants to give them a loving home, because no one could possibly love them as much she could. No human could understand their needs as much as she does. But if she can at least take two of them, she will. Consider it her gift for the day.

With the process explained and after her nearly strangling the employee who kept giving her the wrong one, she finally finds herself at the checkout. She eyes the brushes on display by the register and hesitantly picks out the biggest cat brush they have and adds it to her pile. Hopefully getting it will lighten the fury of Reve.

Takashi holds the door open for her, as with both of her hands are full as she carries two cardboard pet carriers. Honey eyes her curiously, noting the quiet mews coming from the carriers and the small paws that poke through the air holes in the box.

"Aren't you going to buy them food? You can't just bring something home with you because it looks cute."

Kato scowls at Honey's question as she pauses at a nearby bench, setting down with the carriers, mumbling under her breath, " _-kvazaŭ mi estas stulta, nefirebla malgranda azeno_."

"I'm not stupid," Kato's voice is louder and more sharp, "I love cats like they're my family and I treat them like such which means that they're not going to eat that fake food that smells like chemicals and processed meat. We have fresh meat at home, they'll be fine eating that."

Honey has an argument on his tongue, but it catches in his throat when he sees Takashi nodding along as if he agrees with Kato and understands. Takashi takes a seat on the bench beside her and helps her as she opens the carriers, even if he's not sure why she's doing so in the first place. Something about it reminds him of a child that keeps slipping their fingers through a carrier to pet their new friend because they just can't wait until they get home.

Kato, however, doesn't simply slip her hands through the gaps to pet the cats, but rather opens the carriers up entirely and allows the cats to jump about freely. Takashi reaches out to catch them, trying to stop them from running off, but stops short. They don't go toward freedom, they go toward her.

Her new cats, one being a kitten that's obviously the runt of its litter and the other being a larger, older cat with wild hair that seems to match Kato's own, immediately go to her lap as if they have no intention to ever be far from her. The kitten crawls to a space on her shoulder and just under her neck, hidden slightly by the depths of Kato's own hair while the other cat curls into Kato's lap. Takashi can hear an echo of loud purring and sees Kato's chest vibrate with the sound.

Honey wants to point out that that the cats being free may not be the smartest idea, but he sighs and sits down on the bench on Takashi's other side, holding Usa-chan close to his chest. What was the point of arguing if it's to deaf ears?

There's a peaceful silence that envelops them, a moment passing through them that seems rare and Takashi can't help but cherish it slightly as he feels something developing in the air around them. He absently reaches and pets the large cat in Kato's lap that pushes its head to his palm.

"The big one is a Norwegian forest cat," Kato speaks softly, as if she doesn't want to disturb the silent peace that's spread between them, "They're known to be warriors, with even Vikings having them on their ships as mousers. They're strong cats. This one, you look into his eyes and you can see it."

The large black cat looks up his beady eyes to meet Takashi's and he can't help but see what she means. Even an animal's eyes are a gateway to their soul and with it being as old as it is and still being in a shop, there's no telling what it's been through.

"He will be Bizar," Kato says simply, "For being such a brave soldier. Persians," Kato brushes underneath the chin of the kitten on her shoulder, "are quiet, peaceful. Very elegant and this one… she is very small, a runt. She won't get as big as some of her brothers or sisters. So she will be Carinna for being such a small and dear little lady."

Takashi notices the fire in her eyes ignitating, this time with warmth and softness. A fire that's spreading light rather than burning those around them. His cheeks flush with a similar warmth that Honey notices with curious eyes.

Kato ruffles her hair with her fingers, careful of the kitten hidden in its depths and watchessome of it come off with her fingers with a frown. Shedding in human form, this is a fucking pain. At least when she was in her true form, the fur that fell but still clung to her wasn't noticeable. It never itched her skin or teased her nose. It just reminds her how much weaker humans are, including her human form.

Curiously, Takashi watches her closely as she tries to get off a few of the stray hairs. She crinkles her nose and without hesitating, his hand is on her face.

Kato stops moving. She's hit with the scent of woody musk that she could make a candle out of as she feels his calloused hand brush against her cheek. The hand of a warrior, she realizes, with the callouses that form when you make one too many fists and hold onto your sword with your life. His face is a bit too close to hers. The first thing she wonders is how intense and focused his dark eyes are, yet soft around the edges.

The second thing she wonders is why she doesn't push him away with all of her strength. She could break him in half if she wanted to, slam him into the ground and break his ribs. But instead her palms hesitate on his firm chest and she gives a light shove, just enough to get him but gentle enough that it's not any tougher than friends who shove each other around.

Her eyes aren't contacts, Takashi realizes when he sees the complexity of shades of yellows that swirl around in her eyes. Her skin is prickled with rough skin that's softer around the curves of her face, but like every other part of her, it feels muscled. Strong. Her cheekbones highlight a sharper, more square jaw and thick neck that moves into broad shoulders. The hair that covers a side of her face breaks apart and he can see the edges and hints of a scar going down her right eye that looks deep and painful. His fingertip touches the edge of it, hesitantly, and then he feels hands grip at his chest, mildly groping the firmness of his breasts and they stay there a second too long before they shove him away. It barely pushes him back and he gets the message as he leans back.

A stray long black curly hair that wraps around him is held between his fingers. Kato stares at him for a moment then toward the hair in his hand. She huffs and her cheeks are dusted with a dark blush.

"Thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Talking to me like I'm stupid, insufferable little ass.
> 
> Part II will feature Haruhi and Moriko, as well as Kyoya and Reve!


End file.
